In 1971, she left her first husband and her first business, Urban Outfitters, but had only gone a block when she got into a traffic accident. Unwilling to turn back, and in desperate need of money to repair her car, she took the advice of a sympathetic passerby and got a job as a waitress at LaTerrasse. Today, the White Dog is cited by national magazines as among the best in the country and is one of the few on campus that draws people from Center City, the suburbs, even Manhattan. Last fall's rash of armed robberies raised serious questions about the viability of University City as a neighborhood, and the administration of President Judith Rodin, CW'66, hopes to make Penn safer by making it more livable, more vibrant, thus encouraging students and faculty to live in University City instead of Center City or the suburbs. A Penn campus with more shopping, dining, and entertainment would mean more people walking the streets, providing safety in numbers.
Restaurants are a key part of that plan.
But no one is going to make a special trip to 34th and Sansom to eat at Denny's or TGIFriday's. That is where the upscale restaurants fit in. You either had grilled cheese or tunafish. It was always squashed full of people. But it was a great place, a great hangout.