Nov. 4—Penn Dining and Bon Appétit are pleased to announce that acclaimed Chicago chef Rick Bayless is opening a Tortas Frontera location on the first floor of the newly renovated ARCH Building in the center of Penn’s campus. The café, which plans to feature quick service Mexican fare, will be the chef’s first establishment on a college campus.
The café, which will be operated in partnership with Penn’s food service provider Bon Appétit, will be located in The Arts, Research and Cultural House (ARCH), which is currently under renovation. The ARCH has a long history of incorporating food and fellowship, between the Palladium restaurant and Gold Standard cafeteria. The new ARCH café will build on this history. Beyond the sustainable practices in the kitchen, Tortas Frontera will also satisfy appetites by adding a greater variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings to the existing campus dining scene. Tortas Frontera’s menu will include Mexican delicacies such as fresh guacamole, molletes (open-faced quick sandwiches), caldos (soups) and cazuelas (hearty Mexican casseroles), salads, special seasonal dishes and gluten-free options. A wide variety of grab-and-go options will also be available in the space similar to the Hemispheres section found in Houston Market. With Tortas Frontera accepting cash, credit, Dining Dollars and Penn Cash, faculty, students and staff will have access to a greater variety of food and increased daily dining options beyond the dining cafés.