Dreams of Cherry Garcia and Fudge Brownie Sundaes will become a reality for Penn students in the coming weeks when Ben & Jerry's opens its doors.
And aspirations for the perfect sandwich -- charged to PennCards -- will be fulfilled at the new on-campus Chick-fil-A by the time classes start in the fall.
But, while students are salivating in anticipation, local restaurant managers and owners have mixed responses to the proposed changes and additions to the current combination of retail and meal plan options on campus, and some are concerned that their business may be affected.
Last week, Aramark, the University's food management company, announced several changes to the current meal plan system, which would both increase the Dining Dollars component of meal plan packages and add more retail options similar to the Subway added earlier this year.
A new cafe at Van Pelt Library, a '50s-style diner near the Quadrangle, as well as Chick-fil-A and Fresh‰ns Smoothies at Class of 1920 Commons Dining Hall will open in the fall and accept Dining Dollars.
"The bottom line is, no, I'm not happy," said Amin Bitar, the owner of Bitar's, located in the Moravian Cafes, and Simsum, located on the 40th Street corridor. "I think the market is saturated, and it's not going to have a positive impact on businesses as a whole."
Bitar added that the problem may be that certain departments within the University make decisions without considering the impact those decisions would have outside their respective realms of influence.
"It all goes down to the fact that so many people are making these decisions without looking at how it's impacting the whole picture," Bitar said, adding that he is concerned that changes benefiting the meal plan system might hurt other eateries.
Other restaurant owners -- like Harry Mentonis, manager and co-owner of Famous Famiglia, a pizza vendor in the Moravian Cafes on the 3400 block of Walnut Street -- expressed concern that new dining options are likely to hurt existing businesses because they allow students to use Dining Dollars instead of paying with cash.
"It would be a fair business practice if all the eateries had the option of accepting the dining card," Mentonis said. "The market share is not increasing, but the food vendors are, so we should all be given the same opportunity to do business."
Tony Sorrentino, director of external affairs for the Office of the Executive Vice President, noted that although the University believes the new dining options will be popular among students, it will not be a detriment to local restaurants.
"In terms of it having an impact on local restaurants, I believe we have a big enough market and a large enough population on campus to maintain a robust retail district," Sorrentino said. "The fact that more undergraduates may be participating in the dining program does not necessarily mean that they're going to suddenly stop patronizing the food court or The Freshgrocer or the food trucks in the food plazas.
"There's still a very large universe of people on campus... who are not going to be using Dining Dollars," Sorrentino said, referring to graduate students as well as faculty and staff of the University.
In the past year, Famous Famiglia has attempted to establish an agreement with the University under which it would be able to accept Dining Dollars, but has not been successful.
"As a businessperson, without a doubt, it would benefit our business here," Mentonis said. "I cannot emphasize the amount of times students come up with their [PennCards], ask me if I accept them and unfortunately, I have to tell them that I don't.... I would imagine some businesses are just making ends meet, and if they had the option of obtaining the [PennCard], it would increase or help their bottom line."
Still, other local restaurant owners said that despite the influx of vendors and new dining options, they are not concerned about losing customers.
"Overall, I really don't think it will hurt us," Chili's Grill and Bar manager John Cardelli said. "We're pretty much established in the community. We offer a lot more than your quick, grab-a-bite-to-eat kind of place. That's what's going to set us apart."
Thomas Gamble, the manager and owner of Thai Singha House, located on the 3900 block of Chestnut Street, echoed Cardelli's response, stressing the unique Thai cuisine and the "economy-priced" three-course meals that the sit-down establishment offers.
"This place has been here 12 years already," Gamble said. "It's pretty well-known, so [these changes] should not affect it much."
