Vermillion Cup Club provides students, community with discounts around town

The Vermillion Cup Club is giving new meaning to red cups on a college campus.

Free to all University of South Dakota students and their families, the cups provide discounts when brought to any participating Vermillion business.

First-years and their families received cups on Move-In Day and cup distribution for upperclassmen began Aug. 25 at the Muenster University Center Information Desk. Cups are $1 for USD staff, faculty and community members, as well as students that need a replacement.

The city, Student Services and the Marketing Department were all involved in starting the campaign.

Junior Jamie Rykhus was one of the many students who picked up their cups Aug. 25. She said she appreciates that the university and the city are working together more on community-oriented projects, particularly their collaboration on reviving Vermillion’s two downtown movie theaters.

“It’s just something to try to get the college and the community to work together,” said Scott Pohlson, vice president of Enrollment, Marketing and University Relations.

He added that it was a good way for parents to get to know Vermillion, especially during move-in weekend.

Discounts are listed on the club’s Facebook page, which now has more than 400 likes.

The first two deals listed on the Facebook page as of Tuesday night were $2 off a pizza and $1 pop at Old Lumber Company Grill and Bar and free popcorn at the Vermillion Theaters. A 25 percent discount on every purchase at Willson Florist & Gift is also one of the deals around town.

“I think it’s a win-win for the businesses as well as the students,” Willson owner Emily Sudbeck said.

Sudbeck plans on changing her deal each week.

She added that people ordering flowers or gift baskets over the phone can simply mention the cup and still get the discount.

Though Vermillion bars have an opportunity to participate and red cups are often associated with drinking, Pohlson said the discounts go beyond that.

He’s hoping businesses will get creative with their deals.

Howler’s Bar and Grille owner Jon Robertson wants to do just that. For now, the cups are good for $1 sodas with refills and $2 draft beers. Robertson said he’d eventually like to have some more creative discounts, like omelettes in a cup for Eggs & Kegs during Dakota Days.

“Really for us it’s an exciting prospect,” he said.

The changing deals at Howler’s can be found on social media and a poster near their door.

Robertson said anytime the city and university can work together to promote Vermillion businesses, it’s a great idea. He especially appreciates the cup idea itself because “it’s something sort of everybody identifies with.”

“It sort of becomes a cool thing you can take pretty much anywhere (in) town,” he said.

(Photo: Volunteers hand out red cups during move-in day on Aug. 21. The Vermillion Red Cup Club offers USD students and community members discounts to any cooperating businesses in town. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)