Last summer, we wondered about the stretch of vacant storefronts on 40th Street, north of Chestnut, across from the Hub building. It seemed curious that so many vacancies would be there, across from a fancy newish building and on the edge of Penn’s campus. After we did some digging, we realized that Penn owned much of the corner, and the commercial spaces were being kept vacant on purpose, with the thought that a second phase of the Hub would eventually rise at this location.

The Hub

So you can imagine our surprise, when today, after an utterly unsuccessful sheriff’s sale, we spotted a new business in the northernmost previously unoccupied property, 34 N 40th St.

The new store

This new business, Locust Moon Comics, takes up a…