I’ve spent too long at University and Phillip
I’m just going to start with the cut, because I expect to ramble here…
So earlier today I was in the University Shops Plazas trying to decide on lunch, when I looked up and was shocked, as evidenced by my tweet. Mr Panino finally had a new sign! Unbelievable! I had often joked that I wanted to wander in demanding a panino, given that they’re clearly been a Chinese fast food place for years and years. So I go wander over to see what the new sign reads, and it reads “Mr. Panino Beijing House”.
Seriously? “Mr. Panino Beijing House”? I mean, at least now it doesn’t say anything about Balkan Chevaps (see below), but that’s barely a new name, and I’m pretty sure they still won’t sell me a panino, not that I was ever sure what a panino in the first place.
Above: I think this is from between May 2004 and July 2005
I was discussing it with a co-worker after lunch, and we were trying to figure out how long Mr. Panino had been there, and when it started to sell Chinese rather than Italian sandwiches or chevaps. So this evening, I decided to dig around Google Groups’ archive of kw.eats. This is where I started to crack myself up.
First, this post from February 2004. Let’s look at it:
On another note, I walked by Mr. Panino and it looks more even more like a Chinese fast-food restaurant. I wonder if they’ll ever bother to get a new sign and change their name. One advantage of eating there over say, 3-item combo type places, is that they make it fresh but still fast and cheap. I ate there once, I got some kind of spicy chicken with noodles. It was made in front of me, and was fresh and hot. The fact that they still advertise Balkan Chevaps, the 1/2 pound burger, and have an Italian name is a bit strange.
That’s right. Seven years ago, people started to ask “Hey, isn’t it weird that the place is called Mr. Panino, but serves Chinese food?” Seven years. They finally changed the sign after seven years. I’m not sure how to feel. Should I feel great relief that they finally realized that their sign is irrelevant, or surprise that after seven years, they actually took the time to change it.
So now I’ve dated the switch in the cuisine offered, I also wanted to know when Mr. Panino first opened. Now we find a classic post from April 1999. Let’s start at the bottom:
Has anyone gone to any of the other new places in this Plaza, like Mr
Panino or the Pita Factory?
Ok, now we have a base line. Mr. Panino started in the Winter 99 term, along with Pita Factory, which has not just survived, but also moved to the larger St. Cinnamon location over the years. Now the part that I couldn’t even read out loud without cracking up:
> The Fudgemaker place in the University Plaza closed down. Is three months a record for a fudge-and-mocassin store to be in business?
I’m amazed it lasted that long. What an idiotic idea.
Ahh, the legendary fudge and moccasin store! I think Sweet Dreams moved in next and has been successful ever since, but fudge and moccasins became shorthand for “stupid business idea that doesn’t deserve to last because who thought students need easy access to fudge and moccasins?” Soft Pretzel Bakery was almost another “fudge and moccasins” except that I knew lots of people who enjoyed the pretzels. The downfall of that was that it was clear that they were paying too much rent for empty seating space, because not that many people need to sit down to enjoy their pretzel.
Anyways, I’ve confessed to being way too amused by the coming and goings of the University Shops Plazas, but dammit, I’m old, and I’ve been eating there for what? 14 years now? Anyways, there you have it. Fudge and moccasins : bad idea. Keeping a sign that has nothing to do with what you’re actually selling up for seven years : well I guess that worked.
