As the wildly popular Pokemon Go app gets fans out in the city trying to catch the game’s characters, some local businesses are salivating over the chance to catch Pokemon-addicted customers.
Players of the app, which is based on a Nintendo game, visit various locations in the real world with their smartphone cameras and GPS to catch, train and battle virtual creatures called Pokemon.
Game creators have designated real-life locations called “PokeStops” where players can gather supplies and capture Pokemon, and “gyms” where they can battle. The spots are usually local landmarks, but some area businesses are also discovering they’re part of the game.
Most seem to welcome the smartphone-tapping Pokemon Go crowd, even if players are more interested in the virtual Charmander and Squirtle characters than the real goods for sale.
Graziano’s Restaurant in Niles encouraged players to “try a PokePizza” with a 20 percent discount. Eli’s Cheesecake offers hungry trainers free dessert if they buy lunch while playing at the bakery. Portillo’s welcomes people it’s spotted playing in its parking lots and restaurants, said Nick Scarpino, Portillo’s vice president of marketing and communications.
Eli’s human resources intern Allyson Czadowski was playing on her way to work when she found out the roller skating cow in Eli’s window was a PokeStop.
Eli’s hasn’t had issues with players hogging bakery space without buying, said Debbie Marchok, the company’s vice president of marketing.
“We see them taking pictures through the window and want to invite them to come inside and experience Eli’s,” she said.
The company has twice used “Lure Modules” — a feature users can buy to attract additional Pokemon and, presumably, Pokemon players to a PokeStop for half an hour.
Czadowski has captured unusually powerful Hypno and Tauros characters at the bakery when lures were in place and said she’s confident they attracted customers, too.
Eli’s plans to keep trying to capitalize on the game’s popularity by adding a Pokemon flavor to its cheesecake festival at the end of the month with more lures, a Pokemon cheesecake-decorating contest and phone chargers for customers using the battery-draining app.
But not every PokeStop has seen the app’s popularity pay off. The Union League Club of Chicago said it hasn’t noticed any extra foot traffic, nor has Old Town bicycle store Village Cycle Center, even when an employee’s relative tried using a lure.
“I certainly hoped it would bring some attention, or people we hadn’t seen before,” said marketing manager Catherine Wilson.
John Russick, the Chicago History Museum’s vice president of interpretation and education, said it’s too soon to say whether the museum is getting extra visitors. He isn’t worried people will be so engrossed in their screens that they miss the exhibits.
“If they wind up in our lobby, maybe some will go to the galleries as well. We’re happy to have any engagement we can foster,” he said.
Twitter @laurenzumbach
