A variety of local restaurants will not deny that the economic recession is affecting business, but the severity of the recession varies among them.

Some restaurants have lost revenue, cut staff or developed innovative ways to engage consumers during the past year.

With Villa Pizzeria and Papa Murphy’s closing because of the economy and Boxa closing partly because residents are spending less money, many restaurants in the area hope the recession ends sooner rather than later.

The recession and the nature of the Charleston market, in which the majority of students leave for the summer, also pose a unique challenge for local restaurants.

“This past summer was a very, very difficult summer to get through,” said Tim Wiley, general manager for Joey’s Place, a restaurant that offers sandwiches, hot dogs and cheeseburgers.

He said when Eastern students left, a large section of their permanent consumer base went too. Students make up 80 percent of Joey’s consumer base, Wiley said.

He said it was amazing to see how quickly people conserved their money as the recession started to affect Charleston.

“I think in the end what it comes down to is people are really scared what the future is going to hold,” he said.

Wiley said Joey’s has not raised or decreased prices during the recession, but the restaurant has cut staff since last year.

He said the management of Joey’s is not going to give up trying to engage consumers.

Because of that, Joey’s will be unveiling a mobile kitchen, called Joey’s On The Go, this weekend.

Wiley said the mobile kitchen will be able to go anywhere in Coles County and contain a simplified menu.

He said the kitchen will make stops in front of community bars and can make stops in front of residential homes, upon request.

“If you aren’t thinking, you aren’t growing,” Wiley said.

Valerie Tillman, shift leader manager for Pizza Hut, said management has tried to engage students during the recession by offering a student discount.

She said the local chain has lost business during the recession, especially when the students left for the summer.

“Once the students leave, our sales drop,” Tillman said.

She said the Charleston Pizza Hut has not been able to hire as many people because of the recession, but she hopes that changes once the economy rebounds.

Other restaurants haven’t seen as great of an effect.

Larry Keck, owner of Jerry’s Pizza, said business has been slower and they have expanded their buffet in hopes to provide better value for consumers at a cheaper price.

But Keck said he does not know if this recession has made it anymore challenging for his business.

He said Charleston has lost many manufacturing jobs throughout the past years, making it an already economically depressed area.

“We’ve seen recessions like this before,” Keck said.

Greg Magnus, owner of Chubby’s Pizza, said he has cut shifts and sales dropped during the recession, but he said prices remain stable.

Magnus said he is confident his business would persevere through the recession, adding he has enough money to pay the bills.

“It hasn’t killed us, but it hasn’t helped any,” Magnus said.

He said two summers of an economic downturn could have adverse effects for businesses because most businesses save money during the school year to cover future summer costs.

If the recession continues, businesses may have to use those savings to cover previous summer costs.

Paul Pagliai, owner of Pagliai’s Pizza, said his restaurant is fortunate because he has a longstanding consumer base. Pagliai’s has been in Charleston since 1964.

He said Pagliai’s also offers lower prices that have insulated the restaurant from the recession.

“Our business has actually picked up,” Pagliai said.

He said the biggest problem with the Charleston market is the lack of supporting industries.

Pagliai said residents go outside of Charleston to do retail shopping, which deters consumers from dining in Charleston.

Because of this, he said the university is valuable all the time.

“Without it here, there may be some other folks not here,” Pagliai said.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.