The Marathon Grill (200 South 40th St.) and its lounge MarBar closed their doors yesterday, May 23, after nearly seven years of operation due to declining business, according to a report today in the Penn student newspaper The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The paper quotes Penn’s Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz:

“When they [Marathon Grill] came to this location, they brought a renewed vitality to the 40th Street corridor, improving the economy, the activity, and safety of the area in conjunction with other neighborhood development in West Philadelphia.”

The restaurant and bar opened in 2004, replacing a Burger King on the southwest corner of 40th and Walnut. The establishment’s five other locations around the city will remain open, the paper reported. A new tenant for the space, which Penn owns, has not been named.

The Rita Jones Dance Company will present A Tribute To Billie Holiday concert tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.). Proceeds from the event will go to Pancreatic Cancer Research program at Jefferson Hospital. General admission tickets: $10.

If you’re “a cup of coffee and a bagel” person the Mood Cafe, which opened last week at 4618 Baltimore Ave., may not be the ideal place for you. It specializes in the lassi, a delicious yogurt and fruit drink originally from India and Pakistan, but gaining popularity worldwide. Indeed, there are 14 kinds of lassi ($2.99), ranging from a more popular mango lassi to a more traditional salted lassi, a drink flavored with South Asian spice. What’s more, you can mix and match the flavors to your taste.

The cafe is the third West Philly venture for owner Hasan Bukhari. His other two ventures, Desi Village (4527 Baltimore Ave.) and Desi Chaat House (501 S. 42nd), have gained huge popularity in the neighborhood. All three have that distinctive saffron paint job. At the Mood, event the tree boxes are painted saffron.

Speaking of chaat, Mood Cafe also offers a good variety of this traditional East Indian and Pakistani street food. Bukhari said he’s ready to teach people about this dish and would be glad to let you have a taste until you find something you love.

Freshly-squeezed juices, ice-cream, milkshakes, and shaved ice, all natural, are also on offer. As Bukhari pointed out, “the focus is on healthy stuff.”

Finally, if you still want a cup of coffee, it’s not a problem. Although it’s not on the menu, Bukhari will make one for you, be it a latte or a cappuccino. No doubt coffee will become a staple when the weather turns cold again.

Mood Cafe hours: Mon-Sun 12:00 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Danny is a beautiful 2-year-old orange tabby cat who badly needs a home. He is neutered, housebroken, vaccinated, FELV/FIV negative, and up-to-date on flea-preventive medications. Here’s how Danny would describe himself if only he could talk:

Big people, little people, bring ’em on! I’ll love on them all. I’m a lean 15 pounds, sort of a living teddy bear! Go ahead, tote me around! I LOVE to be picked up and held.
I like to play with other cats, but they have to be able to handle a big boy like
me. Some cats just don’t get that I just want to play, but I’m not a meanie, just a
frisky young cat. Got a feather wand, a few catnip mice? Any kids to play with me?
Oh, boy, we could be a match made in heaven I’m a great kid entertainer.
I don’t like those slobbery things also known as dogs. I know I should, but I just
can’t bring myself to be around them. Could we still be friends anyway? I want so
badly to have a home of my own!

Stop by the Baltimore Pet Shoppe (4532 Baltimore Ave.) to meet this super great kitty or email: projectmeowadoptions [at] gmail.com

West Philly parents, here’s a great opportunity for you to get rid of your kid’s used or unwanted stuff, to help a local day care provider, and actually to earn some cash.

St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk), a non-profit cooperative day care in West Philly since 1964, is holding its first annual children’s consignment sale, West Philly Grows Again. The sale will take place Saturday, June 11, but consignors are wanted now.

Here’s how it works.

– First, read the consignor guidelines and fill out a registration form.

– You’ll get an email with your consignor number and price tags for you to print out.

– You price and tag your items.

– You drop your gently used children’s items off to St Mary’s on Friday, June 10 between 5 and 8 p.m.

– Your items go on sale on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for the price that you have set. You get 25% of the price you set (up to 35% if you volunteer to work during the fundraiser). St Mary’s gets the rest.

– You come back Sunday afternoon to pick up your sale proceeds and any clothing that did not sell. You also have the option to donate what does not sell.

Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? And it’s also for a local cause. So click here and follow the steps described above.

This came from our reader Kathleen Turner:

Dog Found, 50th and Locust, 5/19 at about 9:30. She’s a tan pit bull-type dog, with white markings and a very friendly disposition — definitely NOT an aggressive dog. She was wearing a chain collar with a leash attached, but no tags.

We walked around the neighborhood for awhile but no one seemed to be out looking for her.

If you think you might know her or her owner, please contact me by email (khturner32 [at] gmail.com), or call 215-834-1034.

We have 4 cats in the house and definitely cannot keep her, so I’d like to find her owner as quickly as possible!