Pallet Restaurant -- which moved into the space previously occupied by the Top Dog Sports Bar and Grill in the Sheraton University City Hotel -- is eager for student patrons.
Business "has been on the rise since we opened [in October]. We're hoping to keep increasing business and hopefully do some advertising," Pallet manager Leah Watson said.
The American cuisine eatery at 36th and Chestnut streets is in the process of modifying its original menu.
"We are ... changing our menu to a new upscale kind of dining," Watson said. "It's a small room, it's intimate, so we feel it needs a little higher quality of food."
However, she said prices should not change too much. She encouraged students who have not been to the Sheraton since Top Dog closed to come give Pallet a try.
Top Dog "had problems trying to be a nightclub in a hotel in this type of area, with Penn being right here and Drexel," Watson said.
The area "demanded a more professional type of restaurant where businesspeople could bring their clients and things like that," Watson said. "We're driving more towards that clientele, and we're also trying to satisfy the needs of our guests that are staying in the hotel."
Wharton and College junior Manpreet Dhalla, who used to go to Top Dog every Sunday of his freshman and sophomore years to watch football games, was not disappointed to see it go.
"I knew Cavanaugh's was another option, and the prices at Top Dog were pretty ridiculous for what little food they gave you," he said.
Top Dog vacated the Sheraton location this past March. Although the official cause of the closing was uncertain, Local 274 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees union officials cited past legal problems as a probable explanation.
"The hotel had problems with the restaurant turning into a club at night because there were several complaints from guests and things of that nature," Watson said. "They had several fights at night, so it just didn't work out."
Top Dog first entered the Sheraton location in the fall of 2002, taking over Shula's Steak 2.
Dhalla does not have any plans to try out the new Pallet Restaurant because it is relatively far away from where he lives this year. "It's just far from me now because I live more up on campus," he said.
