Breakfast spot on 40th St. closes

My Favorite Muffin, located in the Hamilton Village complex at 40th and Walnut streets, closed its doors last week after the University decided not to renew its lease. "My Favorite Muffin has struggled," said John Greenwood, a top official with the Trammell Crow Co., the Dallas-based company that manages the University's real estate holdings. "They lost some focus with respect to quality." Greenwood said he was in negotiations with a new company to lease the space, though he refused to reveal any information about the store, which he said will open by the end of October. My Favorite Muffin managers could not be reached for comment. The 40th Street area is the focus of the University's westward expansion plan, anchored by Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas project. Campus officials hope to revive the area and stimulate more economic development on the street that has long been considered a barrier between the University and the surrounding community. The vacancy left by My Favorite Muffin will be filled by a "newer, fresher" store to "improve the merchandising mix" on 40th Street, Greenwood said. A specialty food market topped by an 800-car parking garage is also under construction at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets, across from the planned movie theater. Both projects are slated for completion by the spring of 2000. The spot vacated by Cool Pepper's, a fast-food Mexican grill that once neighbored the My Favorite Muffin storefront, remains empty. The restaurant, which went out of business in early February, may be replaced by another restaurant or a clothing store in the next few weeks, according to University officials. This is the third My Favorite Muffin to close within the past 14 months. In January, the fast-food bakery located in the Wharton Cafe in the basement of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall was replaced by Au Bon Pain, the Boston-based cafe chain. And prior to that, the store had a franchise in the old Bookstore building, which was demolished to make way for Wharton's new Huntsman Hall.