Watch: Danielle Tufano on What Makes Downtown Naperville Shopping Different

In this Firks 5 interview, host Dan Firks sits down with Danielle Tufano, Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance, to talk about her path to the role and what makes Downtown Naperville’s mix of local and national shops so unique.

Read the full local highlight on the Downtown Naperville Alliance →

Video Transcript

Dan Firks: Firks 5 today, I’m meeting with Danielle Tufano at the Downtown Naperville Alliance. We’re going to find out what Danielle does to help Naperville grow. Let’s go see what she has to say.

Dan Firks: Hello, I’m Dan Firks, and this is Firks 5. Danielle, thank you so much for joining us today on Firks 5. I really appreciate you taking the time.

Danielle Tufano: Thanks for having me. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.

Dan Firks: So, you know, we’ve known each other for quite some time now. We actually met, I believe, the first time at Game On with NCTV17, when you were, what do they call it, the hostess with the mostest. It’s been a while since we’ve known each other, and, you know, we see each other all the time too, at events, all the time. And it’s just great to see you, because you’re such a great, amazing person, and everybody loves you. So, again, seriously, thank you for being here.

Danielle Tufano: Thank you.

Dan Firks: So, Danielle, tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.

Danielle Tufano: So, I’m the Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance. We’re basically a marketing arm, an advocacy arm, and an event planning arm for the merchants that reside in the central business district downtown. So the building owners, in a very specific map of our downtown, pay a certain tax to the city, and that partially funds us. And so we support the businesses that fall within that certain map. So, unfortunately, we get some people that say, “Can you help us out on Route 59?” or “Can you help us on Ogden?” And unfortunately we can’t, because we’re dedicated to the businesses downtown. And we come free of charge to the business owners, because, like I said, we’re funded through that tax that goes through the City of Naperville.

Dan Firks: That’s wonderful. Yeah, and I didn’t even know that existed. So, just tell me, what are you passionate about?

Danielle Tufano: I’m passionate about giving back to the community. I love being involved. There’s something, and you can probably understand this too, there’s something very addicting, there’s something very special about the Naperville community, that you always want to do more, and you want to connect with people, and you want to find out how you can help them and how they can help you. And everybody is so supportive throughout Naperville, whether it’s the business community, the nonprofit community. And that’s what I love, and that’s what attracts me to being a part of the Naperville community.

Dan Firks: And why do you think Naperville is like that?

Danielle Tufano: I think it’s just because we’re such a robust community when it comes to real estate, when it comes to businesses, when it comes to nonprofits. We just have such a great infrastructure built on all these different realms that, when they all come together, it’s something that’s truly special.

Dan Firks: I would have to agree with that. Yeah, yeah. What sets you apart from your competition?

Danielle Tufano: You know, I would say, probably, when I think of competition, and I don’t know that I necessarily love that word, but when I think of who our competitors are, it would be probably other local, non-local downtowns that are not Downtown Naperville, and a lot of them, locally, do a great job with supporting their merchants downtown. I think specifically Downtown Naperville, we have such a wonderful mix of locally owned boutiques and national name-brand stores, and also one-of-a-kind shops. We have national brand restaurants, but also locally owned and operated. I just love the mix that we have here, which is our tagline, “Be in the Mix” for Downtown Naperville. I just love the mixture of big and small that we have here in Downtown Naperville.

Dan Firks: In my opinion, I don’t think you have much competition.

Danielle Tufano: Well, thank you for saying that. Come and talk to me after the new year, because there’s some businesses coming in that I think are really going to set us apart from other local downtowns, and we’ll keep you posted on those.

Dan Firks: So describe your typical workday.

Danielle Tufano: You know, it’s different, and I think that’s what I love so much about my job, is that there’s so many different things going on. And so there might be a day that I spend all day in the office, there might be a day that I’m down walking on the streets to support the merchants, especially when we had that big construction project in the spring and summer. I was constantly down there. It looks beautiful now, but it was a labor of love, making sure all the merchants are supported. And so a typical workday, it’s not typical, because I’m pulled in so many different directions. There’s 300 businesses that are downtown that I’m here to support. And so my day might start with coffee at Sweet Waters, or it might start with reading a book at Anderson’s. And so that’s what I love about what I get to do every day. A little like real estate, it’s always changing, it’s always different. It might be going this way, but then all of a sudden it’s going to go a little bit that way.

Dan Firks: Yeah, so that’s the beauty of it too. So you have a media background, correct?

Danielle Tufano: I worked in radio for almost 16 years. I started at the bottom, as an intern, at a local radio station, and I just kind of worked my way up. I did every job at the radio station, minus general manager of the station. I did sales, I did on air, I was the program director, I did production, I did promotions. And all those things kind of came together with a skill set that really molded me to where I am today.

Dan Firks: Exactly. So how does that help you succeed in this, do you think?

Danielle Tufano: I think building relationships, learning how to communicate, learning how to listen, was a big thing. You can be the best talker in the world, but if you’re not listening to what people are saying to you, and the needs that they have, you’re not very helpful at all. And so I think being a part of the community, communicating, and that’s really what my radio career helped me to step into this role with. Everything happens for a reason.

Dan Firks: Everything happens for a reason. Well, Danielle, thank you so much for taking time out of your day today. I really appreciate it.

Danielle Tufano: Thank you for having me.

Dan Firks: Absolutely. And I will see you around town, I’m sure. I’ll see you very soon.

Danielle Tufano: Yeah, absolutely.

Dan Firks: Thank you for watching this episode of Firks 5. Make sure to follow Dan Firks for the most up-to-date real estate trends. And when the time comes to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, well, we’ll be here. See you next time. Have an amazing rest of your day.

Read the full local highlight on the Downtown Naperville Alliance →