University City storefronts have seen significant turnover recently, with longtime favorites of the Penn community announcing their permanent closures.
Within the last six months, staples — including Pod and Saxbys — have closed or announced they will be closing their doors, while several new restaurants and retail stores have opened. Several business owners and managers speculated to The Daily Pennsylvanian that the recent closures have come as a result of rapidly and consistently increasing rent rates set by Penn.
Allegro Pizza and Grill general manager Louis Kosmatos, who also works at Greek Lady, estimated that the latter’s rent — set by the Shops at Penn — was above $15,000 each month. Another Shops at Penn store manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, explained the long hours necessary to work in order to pay off the storefront’s increasingly steep rent amounts.
Storefronts not associated with the University are facing challenging times as well. Modern Eye store manager Kate Alexander cited “the complete shutdown of retail” as a major factor contributing to the struggles of local businesses.
“Retail used to bring other retail in, and there just isn’t [retail] now. A lot of it was pre-COVID, and then COVID did not help,” Alexander said in an interview with the DP.
Both Alexander and Kosmatos mentioned the rise of the internet as an influence on the changes their stores have faced in more recent years. Modern Eye’s University City location has been open since 1992, and Alexander began her employment roughly 25 years ago.
Allegro opened its University City location in 1982 and in its earlier years, they hired around ten drivers a night to deliver pizzas to both students and members of the broader University City and West Philadelphia community. Now, they rarely employ more than two drivers each night.
“You don’t need a brick and mortar store anymore to have a business with the Internet,” Kosmatos said. “The Internet is evolving every year and evolving fast and our industry got disrupted just like every other industry.”
Alexander also noted that a “construction boom” from the University created a lack of parking for her clients, who have frequently been late or were forced to cancel appointments altogether if they are unable to find a parking spot.
But being in University City also comes with its advantages, the business managers said.
Gabriel Zabala, who works as a day shift manager of Puyero On Campus, explained in an interview with the DP that the owners chose their new University City location after years of having a storefront exclusively in South Philadelphia because they had already been receiving catering orders from the University City area. They were also seeking a young student population as a steady form of clientele.
Zabala and Kosmatos also mentioned a diverse clientele being a major draw of their respective locations. Zabala explained that the presence of Latin American students at Penn has helped to spread awareness about the business, and Kosmatos shared that the proximity to the University, the Penn Medicine campus, and residential areas makes for a steady flow of customers, even throughout the summer. The location of the University directly next to his restaurant also provides it with the benefit of Penn Police and Philadelphia Police Department presence.
“Small businesses are getting harder and harder to find anywhere. We’re doing the best that we can to be fair and to try to make a living for ourselves, our employees, and all of our families,” Kosmatos said. “We give back as much as we can, we donate and sponsor events for the universities, the neighborhood, for West Philly. We do what we can to be part of the community.”
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