The Diner May Be Going Out of Business

Another iconic State College business could be saying goodbye.

The Diner, 126 W. College Ave., is closing its doors in April if a new owner does not purchase the business,  current owner Dan Rallis told WTAJ-TV’s John Clay on Tuesday.

Rallis reportedly told WTAJ that rent on the space has tripled since he bought the restaurant 32 years ago

Opened in 1929, the former Ye Olde College Diner has become world famous for its ‘Grilled Stickies,’ a bakery treat that’s grown in popularity beyond the restaurant to be sold at other locales and shipped around the world — with or without nuts.

Stickies, however, won’t be going away. Rallis said he is building a new facility in Boalsburg devoted to producing the famed baked good. The Stickies business will offer jobs to 15 of The Diner’s current employees.

Previously open 24 hours a day and at one time one of the few eateries open for the post-bar crowd, The Diner has scaled back its hours considerably in recent years.

The news of The Diner’s potential closing comes on the heels of two other longtime State College businesses shutting down. The All-American Rathskeller, which has been in business since 1933, and Spats Cafe, open since 1987, will close at the end of the month. Owners Duke and Monica Gastiger said they were not offered a new lease by the new owners of the building that houses both establishments.

Those owners, the Herlocher family, said they unsuccessfully attempted to work out lease issues with the Gastigers. The space has been leased to a new tenant that plans to ‘continue operating it the way you’ve always known it.’ The new tenant has not yet been announced.