La Terrasse, the Penn campus dining destination that's been dark for a year, is finally getting new life.
But not as LaT's.
Dave Magrogan, the chiropractor-turned-motivational speaker/restaurateur, has signed a lease with the university to turn the property at 3432 Sansom St. into a branch of Doc Magrogan's Oyster House. He has Doc's in West Chester; Moosic, Pa.,; and Dover, Del.
Projected opening is spring.
Magrogan, who also owns the Kildare's pubs, recently signed with Penn to open a branch of his healthy-dining restaurant Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar to the former Marathon Grill spot at 40th and Walnut Streets.
Apparently no one wanted to revive LaT.
The bistro, which opened in 1966, was considered one of the city's top restaurants in its day and happened to be one of the fave haunts of 1960s hippie guru Ira Einhorn. It was at LaT's bar where he met and wooed Holly Maddux, whom he later killed and stuffed into a trunk before fleeing for France.
LaT's had a revolving door of operators over the last 15 years.
"LaT" also provided many classical pianists a venue and a paycheck to offset tuition costs "back in the day" as as many fellow former music students would attest. Another restaurant with this level of restraint and elegance in the University City area, or elsewhere in the city for that matter would still be welcome. Fine Art Music, Fine Food, and quiet atmosphere in a high-class venue still has a customer base.— factcheck- Taking the best kind of establishment (Oyster House) and putting it in the hands of the worst restauranteurs we have to offer.— Earl J
- Doc Magrogan's in West Chester is a terrible restaurant. I just suspect the new one will primarily be another campus bar.— Palestra Jon
- I think the address is Sansom Street, a few doors down from the White Dog— farrelljr
- This is terrible news.Doc Magrogan specializes in operating ''Frat Boy''nuisance establishments like Kildare's in West Chester and Manayunk.— GREEKPICNIC
- Thanks for reminding everyone of another reason to loathe Arlen Specter.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- I can't think of a better spot for another "Frat Boy nuisance establishment"... Nothing around that block but Penn students.— chuck.goodwin
- Well, it "was' LT's, not LaT. C'mon. I know, I loved the place and then I worked there. Looks like it's just down to White Dog.— christo26
- Sad to hear of this turn of events.
The downfall spiral of LT happened when Penn took over the place, after some troubles, and spent far too much money making it characterless. Good for Penn for trying, but they flubbed it badly and then the debt of the place and the rigid institutional nature of the owner made any next operator under considerable financial and conforming pressure.
LT had been a brilliant, formative, brainey place for undergrad and grads alike to mix and talk on campus with a much more intriguing level of food, drink, atmosphere and conversation than was found anywhere else on campus at Hippies, the Campus Crotch, the Dirty Drug, Ronnies, The Tobacconist's, Smokies, the bowling alley, Grands or any of the rest of the places still left there from the 50's and early 60's when Penn was shifting from being mostly a commuter's campus. LT helped with Penn's transition to become a residential campus because LT was the place on campus one wanted to be and to meet very interesting people to talk with.
LT's, its owner, the managers, the waitresses, those pretending to be staff, the bartenders who liked your opinions and passed out free drinks, the lady with the finest calves in town who lived in the upstairs apt. and those we met there are all around the city and the country now, but what a fine memory of life of the brilliant and intelligent life of a student at Penn LT had been for so many of us!— GAC
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