The company behind two planned restaurants that never opened in a downtown State College high-rise is facing a lawsuit seeking more than $1.16 million in unpaid rent and other costs.
PSU Bagel Restaurant LLC planned to open Figo Italian Restaurant and Bagels & Co. on the ground floor of The Standard, 330 W. College Ave. But the restaurants never materialized and the company has not paid rent since May 2024, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday by the high-rise’s property manager, Yugo LLC.
The Philadelphia-based company also has not surrendered the premises since the lease expired in June, and Yugo asked a Centre County judge to grant summary eviction.
According to the complaint, PSU Bagel Restaurant LLC signed a lease for three commercial spaces in The Standard totaling 11,473 square feet commencing in August 2023 with a base rent of $35,967 per month for the first year and increasing to $37,784 by the third year. The lease also required additional rent for a proportional share of building operating and parking area expenses.
In addition to failure to pay rent and other expenses for more than two years, the lawsuit alleges that the company did not meet terms requiring it to complete buildout of the spaces and open for business by the end of April 2024.
PSU Bagel Restaurant LLC also received a per-square-foot allowance from the building owner for improvements to the retail space, which has been vacant since The Standard opened in 2021, and was permitted to use up to $550,000 of that to secure a liquor license. Terms included for the liquor license to be turned over to the building owner if the lease was terminated.
The company received approval for a conditional liquor license transfer from State College Borough Council in 2023 and subsequently acquired the restaurant liquor license from the former Luna 2 Woodgrill & Bar in College Township. The license is currently in safekeeping, according to Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board records.
An attorney for the company told Borough Council during a liquor license transfer hearing that Figo would be a full-service, “upscale” Italian restaurant with a bar and separate side for a fast casual pizza counter. Bagels & Co. would have been located in another space where it would have served breakfast and launch.
The group behind PSU Bagel Restaurant LLC owned and operated multiple restaurants in the Philadelphia area under the now-defunct GLU Hospitality, which was co-owned by Penn State alumnus Tim Lu.
GLU Hospitality shut down in March 2025 amid lawsuits from investors alleging mismanagement and an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry into wage theft claims, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The company shut down some of its properties and transferred others, including the Bagels & Co. chain, to new owners.
It did not appear any substantial work was completed on the restaurants in The Standard.
Yugo’s lawsuit claims breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
No court dates for the case have been set as of Friday.
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