Billybob goes upscale

Billybob, where a generation of Penn students have turned for cheesesteaks and cheap alcohol, is no more. The 15-year-old Penn landmark is currently undergoing renovations to become more upscale and offer a wide selection of international food. The food court-style establishment, to be renamed The Best of International Cafe will still offer BillyBob cheesesteaks, as well as Chinese food from Silk Road, which has been folded into the new restaurant. In addition to Billybob and Silk Road, there will be a Le Bus bakery, a Torreo coffee station, and a Genji's Sushi Express. "It will be like a big self-service cafe," said Hideo Omori, owner of Billybob and Silk Road. "Maybe later we'll have table service, like Xando's -- with sandwiches, coffee and liquor." Genji, a Japanese restaurant next door to BillyBob, will remain open. Omori said he decided to change BillyBob's image because "it [was] old, beaten and unfashionable. It was time for a change." The Best Of International Cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. during the week, and 24 hours a day during weekends. Omori said it will continue to sell beer and liquor. Omori said his new business will be significantly different from the Moravian Cafes, a food court on the other side of campus. That food court is "too big," Omori said, noting that three of the five vendors in the Best Of International Cafe have been named "Best of Philly" by Philadelphia magazine. Omori said the changes to BillyBob come at "the perfect time," because of the Penn administration's attempts to upgrade the campus' retail mix. Omori claimed that the new Best Of International Cafe will help make "40th Street the equivalent of Georgetown or Harvard Square." "[It's] the beginning of change for the area," Omori said. "[The campus] is too large to be a Harvard, but we have to take care of our students where they are."

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