Pizzeria will Spruce up campus

When students return to campus in the fall, Spruce Street may seem a little more like Italy and a lot less "savory."

Savory on Spruce, the Aramark-run eatery located at 3716 Spruce St., has closed. In its place will be a pizzeria created by Gia Pronto owner and Wharton alumnus Marco Lentini, who expects his new restaurant to open in the end of August.

According to Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger, both student opinions and Penn's switch from Aramark to Bon Appetit as its primary food-service provider played roles in the restaurant turnover.

"The decision to close Savory on Spruce was part of Penn Dining's effort to respond to student feedback about their changing food preferences," Lea-Kruger wrote in an e-mail. "With Bon Appetit coming to campus this fall, there will be other new offerings in the future so we thought this was a good time to make this change."

Lea-Kruger added that she was unsure if Savory would continue to have a station in Houston Market.

A restaurant turnover in the 3716 Spruce St. location is nothing new. When Savory opened in August 2006, it replaced cheesesteak restaurant Tony Luke's, which had only arrived there a year earlier.

Tony Luke's replaced another restaurant, the Triangle Diner, in September 2005.

Then-Aramark district manager John Cipollini told The Daily Pennsylvanian when Savory first opened that they replaced Tony Luke's because not enough Dining Dollars were being used there.

However, Savory's replacement, which is unaffiliated with Aramark or Bon Appetit, will not accept Dining Dollars at all.

Lentini said that while he wishes he could accept Dining Dollars, the University has not allowed him to take Dining Dollars at his businesses.

Nonetheless, Lentini said he is excited to open his "new fast-casual, Italian pizza restaurant" on Penn's campus.

"You have a great customer at Penn," he said, adding that students are "food savvy" and have "discriminating tastes."

The pizzeria, which Lentini has been conceptualizing for about a year, will serve pizza that resembles pizza made by bread-makers in Italy.

Focaccia-like dough will be made in rectangular sheets and baked in a deck-oven, rather than a wood-fire oven. Once baked, slices of the sheets will be cut to the customer's size of choice and priced by weight.

Lentini said the still unnamed restaurant will include high-quality toppings on their signature dish, including fresh mozzarella, imported prosciutto and house-made sausage. He anticipates that a full meal with a beverage, will cost about $6-$8.

This article has been updated to reflect that Savory, Tony Luke's, the Triangle Diner, and the incoming pizzeria are located at 3716 Spruce St. The original version stated the address as 3176 Spruce St.

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