Penn food stuff: Bernie’s closes, PaperMill Asian Kitchen to open soon at Franklin’s Table
The Spurrito comes to Penn as a food truck opens its first brick-and-mortar location.
The University of Pennsylvania-area dining scene lost Bernie’s Restaurant & Bar over the weekend after a two-year run at 3432 Sansom St., across from the law school on the campus’ restaurant row.
Bernie’s succeeded Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House, which had a four-year run (but just about everyone still thinks of it as La Terrasse, since it fed Francophile Quakers from 1966 to 2011).
A rep of Penn, which owns the property, said there was no info on a possible replacement tenant.
The Bernie’s Pub mini-chain, meanwhile, is expected to open its long-long-long-delayed Manayunk location in March. The site at 4411 Main St., which for two-plus-decades was Sonoma and later Derek’s, has been under agreement since 2017 — the same time the Penn location was announced.
In other Penn news:
Franklin’s Table, the food hall at 34th and Walnut Streets, will pick up PaperMill Asian Kitchen, the first brick-and-mortar version of the popular PaperMill food truck. It will replace the Juice Merchant.
Alex Sherack started PaperMill as a farmer’s market stall on the beaches of Sydney, Australia, in 2016. Signature item is the Spurrito, a spring roll-like burritos wrapped in rice paper and filled with various proteins, vegetables, and sauces. Menu also includes made-to-order bowls, banh-mi, and sides.
Opening will be early March, perhaps as soon as March 2.
Franklin’s Table’s lineup includes Goldie, Dizengoff, DK Sushi, High Street Provisions, KQ Burger, and fellow food trucker Pitruco Pizza.