It’s the six weeks out of the year that waitress Elizabeth Netzky dreads — Northwestern’s summer vacation.

“When the students leave, I get behind on my payments,” said Netzky, a Chicago resident who works at Clarke’s, 720 Clark St. “Definitely our main clientele are students. Most of us (at Clarke’s) start preparing now, to save a little to survive summer.”

From mid-June until early September, downtown Evanston clears up as many students ship out. But Evanston restaurants say different summer customers make up for some of the 6,000 NU students who leave the city during the summer months.

Students are the meat of Burger King’s business on the weekends and at night after the bars close, said Jay Darshane, manager of the store, 1740 Orrington Ave.

But more Evanston high school students come in during the summer because they don’t have school and can stay out later, Darshane said.

High school students participating in NU summer programs shore up business at J.K. Sweets, 720 Clark St., said employee Jung-Eun (C.J.) Cha. But although the restaurant is still busy during meal times, fewer people come in, she said.

“It does get slower,” she said.

A different kind of summer customer stabilizes business at the 1800 Club, 1800 Sherman Ave., said manager Tony Sheffler. Students from other colleges return home to Evanston and other North Shore suburbs and visit the bar, he said.

“There’s a lot of familiar faces,” Sheffler said.

Although Clarke’s still receives summer business from Evanston residents, summer school students and other visitors, Netzky said the restaurant really depends on the school year to make money.

“These kids are the spirit of this town,” she said.

— Beth Murtagh