After closing its doors in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former location of The Draught Horse Pub and Grill on Temple University's main campus is being repurposed into a new restaurant.
The Peabody is set to open this fall at 1431 Cecil B. Moore Ave, offering daily lunch, happy hour and dinner service, in addition to weekend brunch. The restaurant is a partnership between Temple and Glu Hospitality, a group who operates establishments such as SET NoLibs, Izakaya by Yanaga and Figo.
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Temple's President Jason Wingard also sought out help from the university's School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. The department plans to use the space as a career development tool where students can get hands-on experience in the industry.
"We want to educate and employ these students and get them excited about working in the hospitality industry," said Derek Gibbons, Glu's managing partner and chief operating officer. "Having a full-service restaurant on campus will be good for them to learn from and be part of. We are thrilled to add this new dimension to this exciting project."
The menu will feature both affordable and more expensive options to serve Temple's growing community. Executive Chef Chino Change will serve classic American fare with a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and entrees.
The bar's drink menu will be crafted by Glu Hospitality's beverage team and will include signature, seasonal and classic cocktails, along with 10 draft beer options, bottles and cans.
Though the restaurant is meant to serve both the Temple community and the surrounding area by providing a sit-down restaurant in an area filled with fast-casual options, it is not meant to be a replica of the well-loved campus bar.
Gibbons told the Philadelphia Business Journal that Temple has been searching for the right idea, saying that university officials didn't want the "wrong concept to come to campus." Rather, the school was looking for a more upscale restaurant to serve faculty and alumni, as well.
Over the next several months, the location will be fully gutted and renovated. The 6,000 square foot space will include 40 bar seats, 150 dining room seats, outdoor seating and a large private dining area for up to 50 people.
The new restaurant was named in honor of Peabody Hall, a Temple dormitory that closed in 2017. The university hopes that it will be a meeting space for students to celebrate important college milestones like move-in day, commencement, concerts and sporting events.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather and build relationships with our community and guests right here on main campus," Wingard said.
The Draught Horse Pub & Grill, which opened in 2001, quickly became a popular gathering spot for students at the North Philly university.
The COVID-19 pandemic shut down campus operations for several months in 2020, sending students home and leaving many university businesses struggling to recoup losses. In October 2020, former Draught Horse director of operations, Mike Frost, told The Philadelphia Business Journal that the bar was only bringing in 30% of its pre-pandemic sales.
The sports bar failed to reach a new lease agreement with the university in the early months of 2021 and eventually closed, auctioning off beer signs, draft handles and other decor in advance of its 20th anniversary and final day of sales. Since then, the building has sat dormant while the university continued to search for ways to utilize the space for the Temple community.