Inn at Penn's Ivy Grille opens for preview period

The long-awaited Ivy Grille, one of the final pieces of Sansom Common, will open its doors today for a month-long "preview period" during which it will serve a small number of customers to help prepare its staff for a formal opening next month. Joining eight other businesses in the Sansom Common retail complex on Walnut Street between 36th and 37th streets, the Ivy Grille will occupy the first floor of the Inn at Penn, which opened in early September. According to James Salvo, director of food and beverage for the Inn at Penn, the flow of customers will be limited for the first month of operation to give restaurant staff a chance to sharpen their skills. "We're considering it our preview period," Salvo said. Restaurant staff and other Sansom Common employees got the chance to sample the Grille's menu this weekend and the response so far has been positive, Salvo said. The official grand opening for the restaurant will be held on November 4 and will include an invitation-only cocktail party for University officials. Although the Ivy Grille is part of the Inn at Penn, officials anticipate that the restaurant will draw more than just hotel guests and Penn students. West Philadelphia residents and visitors from Center City are also expected to frequent the restaurant. "We're open entirely to the public," Salvo said. "We expect a lot of street-side capture." The new restaurant has a casual atmosphere and seats up to 100 in the dining room and 40 at the bar. The dinner menu includes about 12 items made from meat, seafood and local produce. Dinner at the Ivy Grille will be moderately expensive, costing up to $30 for a meal, Salvo said, though some items will be priced more moderately. For dessert, the restaurant will serve Jeremy's MicroBatch ice cream, which is manufactured by 1998 Wharton graduate Jeremy Krause. The Ivy Grille currently employs about 25 people, eight of whom are Penn students, Salvo said. The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 6:30 a.m. until midnight. The Inn at Penn and the Ivy Grille are part of the Collegiate Collection, a subsidiary of Promus Hotel Corp., the same company that runs the Doubletree Hotels and the Embassy Suites. The Collegiate Collection also includes similar establishments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. The Ivy Grille is the ninth establishment to go into Sansom Common, which includes the Barnes and Noble-operated Penn Bookstore, Xando Coffee and Bar, Eastern Mountain Sports, Urban Outfitters, the Inn at Penn, Parfumerie Douglas, Steve Madden's Shoes and Ma Jolie. Various portions of the complex have been opening for the past year, beginning with the bookstore and Xando in September 1998. The Ivy Grille won't be the only restaurant in Sansom Common. Renowned restaurateur Steven Starr, who owns the Continental and Buddakan in Center City, is planning to open a restaurant in the complex. Starr will also operate a restaurant in the new Sundance Cinemas complex at 40th and Walnut streets when it opens next spring.