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The Student Government Association (SGA) is working to increase the number of businesses in the South Orange Village that accept Pirate’s Gold and offer discounts to SHU students.
Joseph Puleo, a senior political science major who is chairman of SGA’s Village Relations committee, says SGA is in the early stages of the initiative.
“One thing that we have already discovered is that there are already a fair amount of restaurants that provide discounts to SHU students, but do not necessarily advertise it as well as businesses like Stony’s,” Puleo said. “The hope is that by compiling a list of all of those who do offer a discount that we will be able to provide SHU students with more economically friendly options to shop and also encourage growth within the local economy.”
Restaurants such as Tito’s Burritos, Cold Stone, Pandang and Village Diner currently offer dis
counts to students that show their Seton Hall student I.D. upon purchase.
Tito’s takes off 10 percent for students on Mondays and Pandang cuts 10 percent daily for students who pay in cash. Cold Stone and Village Diner offer 10 percent discounts to SHU students year round.
Students hungry for pizza and who want to pay in Pirate’s Gold are in luck. Village Pizzeria, Pirate’s Pizza, Pizza Hut and Reservoir Restaurant all currently accept Pirates’ Gold as payment. Restaurants that also take Pirate’s Gold include Stony’s, Ashley’s Marketplace, Cluck University Chicken and Harusame Japanese Cuisine.
Stony’s Burgers furthers its Seton Hall promotions by offering ‘buy one get one free’ burgers to students on Wednesdays.
“We are hoping to greatly expand this list with other eateries that students frequent on a regular basis. Myself and the committee believe that this initiative will ultimately be a win-win for both
parties involved,” Puleo said.
Puleo says the Village Relations committee is in the process of calling all of the businesses that are favorites among SHU students and asking if they accept Pirate’s Gold and offer a Seton Hall discount.
The committee then contacts the businesses that do not offer discounts to find out if they are interested in doing so.
The Seton Hall Market Research Center recently conducted a study in conjunction with Stony’s. After introducing discounts to students, Stony’s profits increased by 25 percent. “We figured that if Stony’s could be this successful in increasing their sales by offering a student discount, other businesses could probably do the same,” Puleo said.
Laura Catanzaro, graduate student biology major, commented on her experience in the Village saying that she used to frequently travel into town during her freshman and sophomore years when she had more free time.
“More places should have Pirate’s Gold especially if people don’t have cash on them, they can put money on their gold,” Catanzaro said. “I love the Village though. It’s a great date spot for couples who live on campus.”
Michael Roma, freshman economics and diplomacy major, lives on campus and says he goes to Village businesses often.
“I wish that more places would take Pirate’s Gold, not even just restaurants,” Roma said. “For example, I was on a run and I went to go pick up my dry cleaning but they wouldn’t accept my credit card. I only had that and my ID on me so using Gold would’ve been pretty convenient.”
On Oct. 12 during a South Orange Board of Trustees meeting, Village President Sheena Collum expressed interest in getting students more involved in the local economy, as reported in The Village Green of Maplewood and South Orange. The board plans to accomplish this by opening more housing in the village to students.
Hunter DeSimone can be reached at hunter.desimone@student.shu.edu.
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