Campus Market officially closed its doors on Friday, following several months of constantly decreasing hours of operation.
The current owners have been operating the store for the past four years on the 3900 block of Walnut Street.
In January, store personnel had mentioned that closing was an option, due to declining business and rising national economic hardships that are currently hitting West Philadelphia merchants. Although operators would not cite competition from the Freshgrocer at 40th and Walnut streets as a reason for closing, many students have said they have stopped using Campus Market since the Freshgrocer's opening.
Assistant Manager of Campus Market Kwang Park said that while the closing was official, it may not be final.
"There are some unresolved issues still open." Park said. "We may even re-open."
Further details regarding those "issues" or a possible re-opening were unavailable at this time.
The owners of the Campus Market rented their retail space from the University.
However, according to Vice President for Facilities Services and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik, Penn officials were unaware of a potential closing. "That is news to me personally," Blaik said.
The lease held by the owners would have necessitated at least a 30-day notice of vacancy.
"They may have given notice, and it simply hasn't come through yet, however," Blaik added.
The University has no plans for the vacancy, as it has not yet received the formal notice.
"If they did close, we will certainly look into it," Blaik said. "We will take that vacancy and see what the best vendor opportunity for the location is at this time.
"However, we don't know if they are closed at the moment," Blaik added.
With the impending closure of Steve and Barry's University Sportswear, located at 38th and Spruce streets, Campus Market's departure would add to several retail vacancies at the University. The former site of Eckerd drugstore on the 3700 block of Walnut and the former site of Unimart at 40th and Locust streets have both been vacant for some time.
