A slew of new retail deals for campus, including an Ann Taylor Loft, Marathon Grill, comic book store and Metropolitan Bakery were announced by University officials over the course of the summer.
The announcements began in late June when agreements to bring Marathon Grill and Ann Taylor Loft were unveiled at a meeting of the University Board of Trustees.
Ann Taylor Loft, which sells women's clothing, will open in November at 36th and Walnut streets directly across from the Penn Bookstore.
Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Omar Blaik referred to the new store as an "anchor" for the University Square area in a June interview.
Marathon Grill will be the newest addition to a Philadelphia-based chain that already has several restaurants in Center City.
Renovations which will allow the restaurant to occupy both floors of the vacant space in the Bridge: Cinema de Lux at 40th and Walnut streets will delay the opening until January.
Perhaps the most eclectic announcement was The Marvelous a record, comic and bookstore that opened on 40th Street between Locust and Walnut streets in mid-July.
"I'm very confident this store is an integral link, a very important presence for the students, the arts community and the neighborhood," said owner Milan Marvelous.
Marvelous, a West Philadelphia resident and entrepreneur said he worked 16- and 17-hour days to prepare the store, which sells a wide variety of new and used music on vinyl and CD. The store now carries over 200 magazines and will begin receiving weekly comic book releases soon, in addition to the trade-paperback comics they have already.
Another West Philadelphia resident, Jim Lilly, will also be operating a nearby business a bakery at 40th and Walnut streets.
The store will be a franchise of Metropolitan Bakery, which also operates stores in Center City. It is scheduled to open its doors in mid-October, Blaik said.
The bakery will offer a variety of baked goods, sandwiches and coffee, as well as indoor seating, according to Lilly.
Blaik had praise for businesses like Lilly's, which are filling unusual needs and creating atmosphere in the locations they occupy.
"The opportunities that are out there now are more beyond the beaten path. You have to think and be imaginative with them,"he said.
Smaller companies and local residents serving as business owners also create retail spaces that fit the neighborhood better, according to Blaik.
"When you are in business with someone headquartered in Cincinnati you have generic issues. I can't get a Gap to stay open until midnight; that's why we want a local bent," Blaik said.
In addition to the new retail options, two existing campus businesses moved or expanded their presence on campus during the summer months.
The Commerce Bank branch on Walnut Street announced that it would expand to occupy the space being vacated by Campus Copy Center. The branch will remain open as construction progresses on the additional space.
When the project is complete which is scheduled for October the space will increase from 2,000 square feet to 5,520 square feet.
For its part, Campus Copy will move to the remaining vacancy on the block at 3737 Walnut Street.
Despite the large number of announcements, several locations still remain empty most noticeably the space on Walnut Street that was vacated by Steve Madden last year and the former Friendly Express location at 40th and Locust streets, which has been unoccupied since October, 2000.
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