Restaurant opening delayed

The Mexican grill slated to fill the vacancy on the 40th Street corridor this month is now on hold, pending further negotiations between Penn and the restaurant operator. Michelle Leff, who operates two other Philadelphia Mexican cafes with her husband, David Fetkewicz, was selected in December to run the restaurant. The restaurant was supposed to move into the space vacated by the Friendly Express convenience store, commonly known as Uni-Mart. "Right now everything is on hold," said an employee at the 12th Street Cantina, one of Leff's two restaurants. "It's not on us as far as the reasons go. Basically, the negotiations have stalled." Leff declined to comment on the situation. And John Greenwood, a top University real estate official, said yesterday that the prospects for a deal between Penn and Leff remain uncertain. "We're still in that early preliminary stage of talking and working with different tenants," Greenwood said. "It may or may not happen." He added that there is still a chance the deal will go through. "We wouldn't be talking with them unless we thought there was some hope," Greenwood said. But back in January, Greenwood sounded optimistic about the restaurant, saying a lease might be signed within a month. "We're working toward a lease," he said at the time. "I'm hoping we'll have a signed lease within 30 days." And last month, Leff was also fairly confident about the lease signing and eventual opening of the new restaurant. She predicted a mid- to late-March opening. "We're in that end-of-the-line stuff now," she said at the time. "We're just waiting to get all the final pieces. [The University] has been wonderful." Greenwood said yesterday that if the Mexican restaurant does not materialize, he has many other ideas for the location, both "food and non-food related, but again [it is] too early to tell." He said that the University is looking for "the best and most appropriate use [a potential operator] will add to the 40th Street corridor." Tom Lussenhop, another top Penn real estate official, declined to comment on the status of the negotiations. Friendly Express closed its doors last October after its lease expired. Popular with students due to its low prices and late hours, the store's closing angered many who said that Penn had lost sight of what retail options are needed on a college campus. And students have long been clamoring for more affordable dining options in the area. The Freshgrocer, a supermarket at 40th and Walnut streets intended to be an anchor of the 40th Street revitalization, also remains on hold as Penn officials work to correct problems with the floor.

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