DePaul Students, Staff Shop Local, Save Local

Ben Nadel is pleased to see his customers at America's Dog in Lincoln Park carrying DePaul University IDs.

Thanks to DePaul’s Shop Local initiative, he is seeing more faculty, staff and students capitalizing on what the school has coined "Demon Discounts," according to a report by faculty news service, Newsline. The initiative encourages DePaul community members to buy from vendors in the Lincoln Park community.

Not only is the program pumping money into the local economy, but it's saving customers' cash during a still struggling market, university officials said.

Julie Emms, spokeswoman for DePaul’s Office of Community & Government Relations, is excited about what Shop Local means for the neighborhood, according to the story.

“DePaul University is an anchor institution, bringing thousands of people daily to each campus,” she said. Nadel agrees, having seen an upswing in customers, first hand.

The publication reports:

“I think supporting local business is great,” he said. “These last few weeks, I have noticed more and more people from the DePaul community coming by. They really appreciate the discounts.”

(He) says his restaurant felt the void Children’s Memorial Hospital left when it moved to the Gold Coast.

“Business was definitely better when the hospital was around,” says Nadel. “But we get a good regular crew of students coming by for dinner or to grab a late-night snack.”

Businesses in both Lincoln Park and the Loop offer a variety of savings to the DePaul community. To receive the discounts, customers typically only need to show their DePaul IDs to a participating vendor. To see a complete list of vendors, visit the Demon Discounts website.

To read the full story, check out Newsline Online.

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