Billybob reopened its doors last week -- and this time, it's the newest bar in town.
The latest owners of the Penn establishment are billing Billybob as a favorite bar and hangout of Penn students, and are even beginning construction on a nightclub in the basement.
The restaurant, which had been closed since July, has gone through several incarnations in the past few years. It has transformed from a late-night cheesesteak restaurant to a hodge-podge of sushi, Chinese food and bakery goods -- and now to a campus nightspot.
"I just want to make this the most fun college bar on the earth," Billybob owner and manager Thomas Brassell said.
So far, according to students, Brassell has been pretty successful.
"Basically, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night you can go there and it'll be packed," College senior Molly Prendergast said. "It's definitely a destination and the cheesesteaks are still great."
Brassell has more planned for Billybob's, however. The club, which is yet to be named, will allocate half its space for a dance floor and the other half for a "hangout area." It will feature a separate house DJ. On some weekday nights, Brassell plans to use the space to host college bands, comedy clubs and poetry nights.
"It's going to be two different vibes in the same place," he said.
The ground floor will be a restaurant until 9 p.m. Afterwards, it becomes a bar, and Brassell hopes to attract the 21-and-over college student crowd.
"We don't want anything to do with that late-night cheesesteak thing we had before," Brassell said. "I want Penn kids in here."
Brassell hopes to bring Penn students into Billybob through a slew of new facilities and specials.
"I am going to be the most famous guy in the University in six months," Brassell said, adding that he wants "a bar that is absolutely, off-the-hook fun."
Brassell just purchased a $20,000 touch-screen computer ordering system, which he claims will significantly decrease service time. Billybob also has a cable television system for football game viewing and a newly-installed hand-carved beef station. The menu is purported to consist entirely of fresh-made foods and a full service bar that sports 12 beers on tap.
Brassell also said his staff would bring in customers.
"All the waitresses here are very attractive," Brassell said. He went on to describe how each of them already had a fan club.
University students seem to be taking to the changes to Billybob.
"I had a really good time there," College sophomore Suzanne Swartley said. "The personnel there is great."
College junior Ali Corsi agreed.
"I think it's a fun place to hang out," she said. "I think it'll be a success."
However, she was unsure of how the bar would stack up against others in the area, like Smokey Joe's and Blarney Stone.
Blarney Stone co-owner George Flocco wasn't too worried about the possible competition, saying that it would just give students another option.
"If Billybob's is going to [be a bar] too, that's great for them," Flocco said. "I just have to run the bar the best way that I can."
But Brassell is optimistic, citing his venue's meteoritic rise.
"I'm absolutely amazed at how this place is taking off," Brassell said. "It's like the movie says, if you build it, they will come, and that's my philosophy."
