Andrew Rosso had been eagerly anticipating the opening of The Peabody for more than a year. He first noticed the storefront decorated with posters and QR codes encouraging passersby to apply for positions. However, the link was broken, and the establishment’s opening seemed to be perpetually delayed, putting his excitement on hold.
The Peabody, which finally opened three weeks ago, offers Rosso a new on-campus drinking experience. But the bar still needs some work, he said.
“Maxi’s has the reputation, I feel like, of having that Thursday night campus bar and then Pub Webb is also right there with it,” said Rosso, a senior graphic and interactive design major. “[The Peabody] just feels like it needs some time to really find itself.”
Glu Hospitality, the former owner and operator of The Peabody, partnered with Temple and planned to open the bar in Fall 2022. However, amid years of unexplained delays, the opening was rescheduled for November 2024, only to be postponed again for several months. At last, the establishment had its official opening in late February.
Less than a month after The Peabody’s long-awaited opening, Glu Hospitality shut down due to a Department of Labor investigation amid wage theft allegations and lawsuits, The Temple News reported.
“Glu never really opened [The Peabody], it’s been opened under new ownership,” said Derek Gibbons, the former partial owner of Glu Hospitality.
Gibbons declined to identify the new owners, but specified they’re individuals and not affiliated with a restaurant group.
Jonathan Reiter, associate vice president of business affairs and administration and The Peabody’s landlord, also could not share the new owners’ identities, he said.
Gibbons took on The Peabody as part of a larger effort to expand the franchise to Cecil B. Moore Avenue, following the successful opening of Bagels and Co. with fellow Glu Hospitality operator Tim Lu a few months earlier.
However, delays set in shortly after construction began. They hadn’t anticipated the former Draught Horse location would require a complete interior gutting, but none of the previously existing plumbing or mechanical fixtures could be reused, Gibbons said.
Glu Hospitality struggled financially in their remaining months, and Lu told the Inquirer they had taken too much onto their plate in an effort to expand their restaurants across the city.
Gibbons also credited many of the delays to various state inspectors and the desire to open the bar at an opportune time for its college campus crowd. As the owner of several restaurants around the city, Glu knew to expect setbacks and challenges along the way. The added pressure to open during a time when students were on campus, however, was an unexpected obstacle for the company.
“You don’t want to open when school is not in session around the holidays,” Gibbons said. “So then everything kind of just kept getting pumped down the road. And then, obviously, with the recent news of Glu, that was another obstacle that we had to face.”
Although The Peabody is under new ownership, Temple’s Director of Real Estate Gina Rubinic is working to assure the Temple community that its branding and overall experience will not change.
Rubinic oversaw Glu’s lease agreement with Temple and worked to ensure The Peabody adds to the community in an intentional way. Opening The Peabody and Bagels and Co. on Cecil B. Moore is part of the university’s larger effort to expand open storefronts.
“It’s important, the more businesses and enterprises happening on Cecil B. Moore,” Rubinic said. “That means people sitting having a cup of coffee. That means people walking in and out of businesses. The more foot traffic, the better, the more people are there in the morning and at night. And that just contributes to safety.”
In his visits to The Peabody, Rosso has noticed a sparse crowd compared to other on-campus watering holes like Maxi’s and Pub Webb. Still, he visits The Peabody weekly, hoping that others will join him.
“I’m gonna keep showing up every week to support this, to support and come out and fill the room in hopes that more and more students start coming and doing the same,” Rosso said.
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