New Businesses Bring More Options to Drexel University Community
Mario attended the Rally House at Drexel University's grand opening.
As students have gotten settled into their lives on Drexel University's University City Campus this year, so have several new businesses.
In August 2025, the space formerly occupied by Barnes & Noble at Drexel University was filled by Rally House at Drexel University, the company’s first University-specific brand store. Later on, two more Saxbys coffee shops opened in the Bennett S. LeBow School of Business and Drexel's Health Sciences Building (HSB).
Beyond coffee, snacks and Drexel swag, these new locations have become spaces where Drexel students — along with members of the broader Philadelphia community — can gain hands-on work experience. Through the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute’s Project SEARCH program, students with autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disabilities receive hands-on vocational training. This year, Rally House hosted a Project SEARCH intern, providing a meaningful pathway from training to real-world employment.
As for current Dragons, Rally House hired one co-op student, with intentions of expanding to Philadelphia-regional positions in 2026. Their inaugural co-op student helped with the transition from Barnes & Noble to Rally House, as a student employee hired by Drexel Business Services, and also helps with services across all units, said Amanda Noll, executive director of engagement. Also related to the new Rally House, Josh Smiler, marketing '29, had independently begun making videos promoting Drexel and its on-campus experiences on Noll and her team introduced him to Rally House, and he’s now officially affiliated with them as a content creator.
“We introduced Josh to Rally House during the store transition because he was looking for Drexel T-shirts for his content,” Noll said. “Now, he wears Drexel-branded gear in every post and consistently shares such a positive view of campus life.”
The Rally House partnership marked a big change for the University, as there’s no longer a physical bookstore for students; course material is now handled through eCampus, but students still pick up books and other materials at Rally House.
“There is a growing trend toward digital course materials and online fulfillment,” Noll said. “By removing unused shelf space in the physical store, we were able to give Rally House room to expand its merchandise. Now, the store carries licensed gear for all Philadelphia teams, transforming the store into a destination that serves both the campus and the local community."
At the grand opening of the Saxbys in LeBow, attendees toasted with cold brew.
Finally, with three total Saxbys locations now on campus, there needed to be students in place to run it all. The cafés are run entirely by students through Saxbys’ Experiential Learning Platform (ELP), so students get paid, on-campus experience and can earn “microcredentials” in areas of the business, like marketing, supply chain management, sustainability, talent acquisition and more.
Each café also has a Student Cafe Executive Officer (SCEO) earning academic credit for the work they do to keep the coffee flowing and the business open. The SCEOs change on a bi-annual, co-op-related basis; currently, Chase Woolfolk, finance ’29, runs the 34th Street and Lancaster Walk location; Jacob Chen, marketing ’27, runs the the LeBow location and Angel Zamora, sport business ’29, runs the HSB location.
“We survey students regularly, and they’re really loyal to Saxbys. I think that’s because they know it’s student-run and love supporting their peers, which is pretty amazing,” Sha’nele Beattie, director of hospitality and DragonCard in Drexel Business Services, said. “Plus, Aramark, which runs all the vending on campus, partners with Saxbys so students can use their dining dollars at those locations. It’s a great way to give them more options and more value with their dining plans.”
Keep an eye out for other businesses opening near campus soon as well, including the new Gather Food Hall in the Bulletin Building at Schuylkill Yards. There, six stalls are stocked with local eateries — including Sahbyy Food, a Cambodian stand run by Drexel alumna Pidor Yang, and Mucho Perú, run by Brizna Rojas and Aldo Obando, whose daughter Alexa attends Drexel.
A new Philly Pretzel Factory will open in the Constantine N. Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (PISB) and will serve both water ice and ice cream alongside pretzels; it’s the pilot of a new concept for the pretzel company. Nearby, in the former Blaze Pizza location at 3400 Lancaster Ave., Oh Brother Philly recently opened and sells cheesesteaks, burgers and more.