New business activity has been on the upswing in downtown State College, and a flurry of new restaurants are poised to join the mix.
In 2024 the downtown saw a net gain of businesses, according to Kendra Kielbasa, who was hired as the retail and commercial business advocate for the Downtown State College Improvement District a year ago, and 2025 has already seen multiple business openings, including Buffalo Wild Wings, 134 S. Garner St., and Town Pride, 240 E. Calder Way, among others.
More are on the way. During a presentation to the State College Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday and in a conversation with StateCollege.com, Kielbasa identified six food and beverage establishments with plans to open new locations in the near future in downtown State College.
• Benny Leone’s, 109 S. Fraser St. Virginia-based pizzeria Benny’s is getting ready to open its third Pennsylvania location in the space most recently occupied by K2 Roots, which moved to South Garner Street last year. Benny’s is known for its oversized slices and 28-inch pies, and its State College location will be open late into the night. Kielbasa said she tentatively expects Benny Leone’s (each location gets its own surname) to open in late May.
• Kung Fu Noodle, 346 E. College Ave. Based in Ohio, where it has three locations, Kung Fu Noodle is readying its first Pennsylvania restaurant in the former Liberty Craft House space. It specializes in hand-pulled noodles and is inspired by the culinary traditions of the founders’ native Lanzhou. Kung Fu Noodle’s Columbus, Ohio location was named among the best new restaurants of 2025 by Columbus Monthly.
• Brooklyn-style deli, 340 E. College Ave. The corner of East College Avenue and Hiester Street, which has seen vacancies for a few years with the closure of several Dante’s Nightlife establishments, is becoming a hotspot for new businesses. Next door to the future Kung Fu Noodle, and above the recently opened Manny’s Live Performance Space, a “Brooklyn-style” deli is planned for the former downtown Hi-Way Pizza location. Kielbasa said that as of Wednesday the operators of the deli were not yet ready to reveal its name.
• The Press, 113 Hiester Street Around the corner, a locally-owned cidery called The Press is in the works for the former longtime home of The Deli and Z-Bar. Work on the space has been ongoing, and Kielbasa said the owners are hoping to open The Press sometime this summer.
• Riko’s Pizza, 142 E. College Ave. Specializing in thin-crust, tavern-style pizza, Connecticut-based Riko’s announced last May it is planning to open its first Pennsylvania restaurant in the former Spat’s Cafe location at the corner of South Pugh Street and East College Avenue. After its liquor license transfer was approved in October, a restaurant spokesperson said Riko’s was anticipating a late spring 2025 opening. Kielbasa said they are now planning to open in time for the start of Penn State’s fall semester.
• Sizzling Bites, 129 S. Pugh St. Bethlehem-based halal restaurant Sizzling Bites is planning to open a State College location in the former Sheetz on South Pugh Street. Kielbasa said the lease was only recently signed and she does not believe any work has been done on the space as of yet.
Just outside the borders of the Downtown State College Improvement District, which to the east ends at Sowers Street, Big Chicken, the fast-casual restaurant chain founded by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, confirmed in March that franchisees have signed a lease for 448 E. College Ave., on the ground floor of oLiv Hetzel, and plan to open by the fall.
And in non-food and beverage development, Saudi oil giant Aramco recently signed a lease for 3,000 square feet of office space on the second floor of The Standard, according to commercial real estate agent Kandy Weader, of Bennett Williams Commercial. The company plans to use the space to support its Penn State student program, Weader told StateCollege.com. Aramco has longstanding partnerships with the university, sponsoring more than 160 students to study science and engineering at Penn State each year and supporting initiatives in engineering and earth and mineral sciences.
Elsewhere in The Standard, the future of two proposed restaurants for the ground floor is uncertain. GLU Hospitality received a liquor license transfer for Figo Italian and also detailed plans for the adjacent Bagels & Co. breakfast spot in 2023. But the company recently shut down and closed or sold its Philadelphia properties, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, and its liquor license for the State College location is now listed as expired. Weader only represents the second floor office space in the building and did not have information on the restaurants. Kielbasa said she did not know their status.
A number of other businesses are also scouting locations in downtown State College. While Kielbasa said some are likely in direct contact with commercial real estate agents like Weader, she is aware of at least five restaurants and seven other businesses that have been interested in finding space.
They include Asian, Turkish, Persian, pizza and “mid-upscale” American restaurants. On the non-restaurant side, businesses and organizations seeking locations include a tech company, pickleball, artist supplies, a new church, a student group, a medical office and an undisclosed business that is looking for 25,000 square feet of space.
