May 8, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Campbell’s tavern to get new owners
by Jennifer Katz

Campbell’s Place, a longtime Hill watering hole, is about to change management. After more than four decades as owner, Mary Campbell has agreed to sell the business and the building that houses it to one of her oldest and best customers, former Chestnut Hill resident Vanessa Noonan Mullen and her husband Rob.

The Mullens, who currently live in East Falls, have been patrons of the tavern for many years. Vanessa, 36, grew up in Chestnut Hill and her parents still live here.

“Mary Campbell has long played host to this community with her friendship, warmth and generous spirit,” she said in a press release announcing the sale. “We are so proud to be following in her footsteps.”

How much the couple is paying for the business and the building at 8337 Germantown Ave. will not be available until the sale is final, which will not happen until the liquor license transfer is complete sometime in August.

Rob, 35, will become manager and executive chef of Campbell’s. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., and has worked at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan and Beaver Creek, Colo. He currently operates his own catering company, that services music venues such as the Tweeter Center and Tower Theatre. He also was executive chef for local events, Live8, and has toured with U2 and Phish.

Campbell, who has managed the business for 38 years, said she waited to retire until she found someone with the same spirit and commitment to community.

“It was important to me that there be continuity,” she said in a released statement, “and that the new owners know and love this community and the customers who have been like my family for 40 years.”

Regulars will be comforted to know that bartender Roger Learned and server Kelly Patterson will stay under the new management. The Mullens also said that the décor, cozy booths, brick walls lined with black and white photographs and the antique Bavarian steins lining the mahogany bar, would remain as well.