Harvest is permanently closed, Penn announces in statement

Harvest Seasonal Grill and Wine Bar will not be reopening, a Facilities and Real Estate administrator said Friday. 

This confirmation comes after months of speculation about the popular restaurant's future after its building on 40th and Walnut streets  was damaged by a fire in January. 

The CEO of the Harvest restaurant line Dave Magrogan wrote in an email in February that “at first [the damage] appeared minor but the combination of the fire and the efforts of the fire department to extinguish the fire caused substantial damage." 

By April, students told The Daily Pennsylvanian they missed the bar and restaurant, but were not hopeful that it would reopen. 

Ed Datz, the executive director for Real Estate at FRES, wrote in an emailed statement Friday that "Harvest Grill and Wine Bar (200 S 40th Street) has been closed since January 2017 and will not be reopening." 

"The Real Estate Department of Penn's Facilities & Real Estate Services is currently working with its retail broker to identify a new tenant for this restaurant space," he wrote. "The goal is to find a tenant that will appeal to both the University and surrounding community — there is no timeline at this time for a new opening." 

Harvest's official closure comes in the midst of another real estate battle across the street. The University has announced that an Acme supermarket will replace Fresh Grocer at 40th and Walnut streets, but Fresh Grocer disputes Penn's claim they did not renew their lease in time.