Delays hit openings of three eateries

Two eateries initially scheduled to debut on campus this semester are now instead slated for grand openings in the spring.

Qdoba Mexican Grill and Metropolitan Bakery, both near the 40th Street corridor, will open their doors in February and April, respectively. Both dates are significantly later than their projected October kickoffs, Penn's Director of Retail Development Lisa Prasad said.

Marathon Grill, which will be located in the Bridge: Cinema de Lux, faces a smaller delay. It has moved its opening date from January to April, according to University officials.

Qdoba's Philadelphia franchise owner Will Charbonnet said that the restaurant's new location at 40th and Locust streets -- which has been vacant for the last three years -- is scheduled to open Feb. 1.

It will become one of 14 Qdoba restaurants scheduled to open their doors in the city within the next four years.

According to Charbonnet, the franchise was initially most interested in opening its University City location first. However, due to delays that he said originated from the University in signing the lease with Penn, Qdoba moved forward with its Center City location, whose grand opening was three weeks ago.

Charbonnet said that business there has been "great."

"In some ways University City was always our No. 1 priority," he said. "In Center City, operations were the most important."

"It definitely did slow down our progress [in University City] a little bit," he added.

Currently, Charbonnet is working with architects and engineers to plan and properly equip the 40th and Locust site.

"We pretty much gut these places and start from scratch," Charbonnet said. "This takes seven to eight weeks."

Qdoba began working with the University last November, and finalized a lease in September.

Metropolitan Bakery, which will be located at 40th and Walnut streets, was also slated to open in mid-October, but will not be in business until February, according to Prasad.

Metropolitan Bakery's Director of Retail Operations Don Garton said the development's sluggish pace is due to a combination of technicalities.

"Part of it has been trying to get the architecture correct and get some licenses," he said.

Metropolitan Bakery, an enterprise established in Philadelphia, has four locations in Center City, as well as a couple of suburban posts.

The new location will be the company's first attempt at franchising, as it will be operated separately from the existing locations.

Prasad did not specify the cause for the delay in Marathon Grill's opening. However, when the University announced its contract with the restaurant, renovations still needed to be done to the facility.

Marathon Grill is a Philadelphia-based chain that already owns six restaurants, all located in the city.

Over the summer, the University announced a slew of new operations slated to open this year. A few of these, including Ann Taylor Loft and The Marvelous, a book, comic and record store, have already opened for business. Gi… Pronto, an Italian sandwich and salad shop, also opened on Spruce Street earlier this semester, leaving only one vacancy -- the site previously occupied by Steve Madden -- remaining on campus.

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