Walking into Houston Hall and heading to the spot formerly occupied by STA Travel, one can get a peek at an almost-completed ice cream shop, squished in between the Video Vault and Amazon Juice.
In fact, the square-shaped space is hard to miss with its bright fuschia walls, which meet a black tile floor scattered with hot pink squares.
The only thing missing is the ice cream.
But students only have to wait a bit longer until Scoop deVille opens for business, scheduled for April 1. Most of the construction is finished and the last of the equipment is being installed.
And some students can hardly wait for the shop to be complete.
"I think it's perfect timing because it's hopefully going to be warm weather soon," College sophomore Adrienne Benson said. "I'm really excited."
Scoop deVille owner Suzan Shore has received a positive response from Penn students in the last couple of months since the opening of a location in Houston Hall was announced.
"The kids are excited, so we're excited that they're looking forward to us opening," Shore said.
Tom Hauber -- director of the Perelman Quadrangle, campus union and performing arts facilities -- has also noticed the eager anticipation among students regarding the imminent opening of the Rittenhouse favorite.
"We actually have had more [excitement] on this project than we've had on a lot of projects," he said.
The menu will be very similar to the ice-cream parlor in Center City.
"We've done a Penn menu and it's very similar, if not exactly the same," Shore said. "We have some additional things we'll sell there that I think the students will like."
Benson was happy to hear the menu will not be too different from the shop on Rittenhouse Square. She said she likes the ice cream at Scoop deVille so much that she wouldn't change a thing.
"You can't get that kind of ice cream anywhere else," Benson said.
Although College freshman Jenny Jin is not an ice-cream lover herself, she said she has no doubt that Scoop deVille "would be a great addition because people would definitely go there to hang out."
While College freshman Catherine Clair agreed that bringing Scoop deVille will be beneficial to the University, she will not wait in line on April 1 to partake in any ice-cream eating.
"I eat in the dining halls and there's frozen yogurt there and I can get it for free," Clair said.
Nevertheless, there seems to be ample student interest in the new opening. While Hauber sees this as a great sign, he is also concerned that it could pose problems.
"The only concern that we've had -- and it's a good concern -- is ... what we would do if [Scoop deVille] generated lines of people," Hauber said. "We've gotten numerous responses that this is a good thing and 'I'm going to come' and so on and so forth."
Hauber noted that this is the best kind of problem he could hope for.
"When you have those types of discussions" about managing long lines, he said, "you know you've begun to succeed."
Because the store is not associated with the Penn dining service, students will not be able to use meal plan Dining Dollars. It is up to Shore to decide whether students will be able to use PennCash accounts.
