Wendy’s Opens on University Drive in State College

State College’s second Wendy’s restaurant opened to customers on Tuesday.

The fast food joint’s newest Centre Region location is at 521 University Drive, which was home to a Burger King for decades before it closed in 2020.

Franchisee CKA Management — which operates the State College area’s other Wendy’s at 1610 N. Atherton St. — spent the past several months remodeling the interior and exterior of the building.

In addition to a new facade outside, the inside features redesigned seating and ordering areas, self-order kiosks and a pickup rack for mobile/digital orders.

“We see the State College area is a robust trade market and one in which we would like to expand our operations and explore new Wendy’s locations,” Nick Cugine, CKA Management, said in March.

Like the Burger King before it, the new Wendy’s does not have a drive-through. A borough planning official said although a drive-through is permitted on the property, the company found the addition wasn’t feasible because it would require the purchase of additional land.

Aside from the two State College area locations, Centre County has one other Wendy’s, which is not owned by CKA Management, located at 135 Buckaroo Lane in Bellefonte.