New retailers to open near campus in the coming months

It is always fun when new businesses open near campus. As if the Honeygrow and the newly-renovated Saxby’s Coffee were not exciting enough, three other new retailers will be arriving soon on and around Penn’s campus: Spread Bagelry, 1st Class Nails and Dottie’s Donuts.

1. Spread Bagelry, a local business selling Montreal-style bagels, will be located at 3602 Chestnut St. and will be open sometime before the fall. The on-campus location will be an expanded version of the Center City shop — a “Spread on steroids,” as owner Larry Rosenblum puts it.

“We have a very large following at our current location,” Rosenblum said. The new location, however, will take the idea of a bagel shop to the next level, featuring a full liquor license and functioning as a BYO. Spread will also have extended hours, along with an expanded menu. Rosenblum also has big ideas for the shop’s opening, citing “all kinds of fun stuff and promotions.”

Ed Datz, Penn’s real estate director is equally excited about the new Spread Bagelry. “It's going to really add something that hasn’t been here for awhile … take a look at their menu and what they’re going to do with bagels and what they’re offering, it’s unique and we think students, faculty and staff will love the concept,” he said.

2. 1^st Class Nails, which will be located at 212 South 40^th St., as another new retailer that will contribute positively to the mix of services available on campus. The nail salon is set to open later this spring, and will be Penn’s first specialized nail salon.

“As you look at our retail portfolio, this is specialized …  we don’t have another nail salon that is specifically a nail salon,” Datz said.

3. Dottie's Donuts, which will open sometime this month, will feature an entirely vegan menu of donuts, pastries and coffee. About two years ago, the shop first opened as a wholesale retailer, but their first brick-and-mortar shop will come to West Philly this month at 4531 Springfield Ave.

“Matt and I met at Blackbird Pizzeria while we were both working there,” said Jeff Poleon, co-owner of Dottie’s with business  partner Matt Quinn, “and we were talking to … the owner of Blackbird, about what Philadelphia has and doesn’t have as far as vegan food, and we … all realized that it was missing donuts.”

At the time, Poleon and Quinn did not have the startup money to open their own donut shop, so instead they decided to start a wholesale business. For the next two years, they made and sold vegan donuts all around Philadelphia, saving to open their own stand-alone location.

“The whole shop is going to be vegan,” said Poleon. “Right now … we sell to Hubbub and Joe Coffee, so we’re gonna have a few more options than what we currently sell there;  we’re gonna have filled donuts, and apple fritters and different types of cinnamon buns.” The shop will also serve Elixr Coffee, which is roasted in Philadelphia.

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