Delco Steaks, Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea to open at Franklin's Table on Penn's campus

Franklin's Table Food Hall on Penn's campus will soon welcome two new restaurants to its lineup.  

Delco Steaks, a local cheesesteak shop, and Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea, a boba tea chain, will open at Franklin's Table in the coming weeks, according to a press release from Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services. Delco Steaks will open on Dec. 5, while Yifang has a target opening date of mid-January, the stores' respective owners each wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The new restaurants will join the food hall's five existing eateries: DK Sushi, High Street Hoagies, Goldie Falafel, PaperMill Fresh Asian Kitchen, and Pitruco Pizza.

“We curate the mix of shopping and dining options at Penn to be a destination experience,” Ed Datz, Penn’s Executive Director of Real Estate, wrote in the release. “The additions of both Delco Steaks and Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea to Franklin’s Table will add to the lineup of critically acclaimed chefs and local best-in-class operators at the Food Hall, making it a destination for culturally diverse cuisine and local favorites.”

Delco Steaks opened its first restaurant in March 2020, with a menu that includes cheesesteaks, burgers, chicken, and fries using locally sourced meats and dairy. The restaurant, named after its original Delaware County, Pa. locations, was awarded the "2021 Best of Philly" for cheesesteaks by Philly Mag. The Franklin's Table location will become Delco Steaks' first store in the city of Philadelphia.

In response to a request for comment, Delco Steaks Chief Operating Officer Steve Reynolds wrote that the store would work with Penn Athletics on including games and a student punch card with the dining experience, as well as Penn-specific Delco Steaks shirts. 

Yifang, described as a "cult-favorite" by FRES, infuses raw ingredients, seasonal fruits, and natural ingredients in its boba tea offerings, which are based on Taiwanese recipes and include the popular, pineapple-flavored Yifang Fruit Tea. The store currently has one other location in Philadelphia on Temple University's campus, at 1501 N Broad Street.

"Students can anticipate the same high quality organic fruit and milk teas from this new location," Yifang owner Rob Chen wrote to the DP. 

The two additions to Franklin's Table will join a number of restaurants that have opened around Penn's campus this year, including DIG, Raising Cane's, El Taco, and Amma’s South Indian Cuisine. Five Guys plans to open its location at 3714 Spruce St. around mid-December, Datz wrote to the DP. 

DIG, El Taco, Five Guys, Delco Steaks, and Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea are all part of the FRES retail district, SHOP PENN, which has more than 75 outlets. Because Penn owns each property where the stores are located, FRES acts as a landlord and provides funding for opening. Franklin's Table opened in March 2018. 

"Delco Steaks and Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea are eager to open and will enhance the already thriving food destination in University City with their premium offerings," FRES wrote in the press release.