The bar has a new configuration, and the space is a bit more open, but it still looks and feels a lot like its predecessor in the basement location at 108 S. Pugh St.
Doggie’s Rathskeller & Garden on Thursday opened to the public for the first time under its new name and proprietors.
‘Finally,’ said Tom Trosko, who with his wife, Kelley, began officially leasing the former All-American Rathskeller location in March. ‘It’s been lots of long hours, lots of work, lots of cleaning.’
As locals and Penn State alumni are well aware, the All-American Rathskeller had its last call in January, ending its 84 continuous years in business, following a public lease dispute between the Skeller owners, Duke and Monica Gastiger, and the building owners, the Herlocher family.
The Troskos have vowed from the start that they would maintain the historic feel of the Rathskeller, and one step inside reveals they were true to their word.
There are some changes, to be sure. The wall separating the front room from the middle, where once there was a pool table, is gone and the bar wraps around. The tables that lined the middle of the front bar room have been moved to the next room, making for more space. The back room with a stage where countless bands have played wasn’t yet reopened on Thursday.
The main bar now wraps around to the middle room at Doggie’s Rathskeller. Photo by Geoff Rushton/StateCollege.com
But the booths, custom-made in the 1950s, are still there. The worn, dark wood remains untouched. The name even pays homage to the bar’s history, as C.C. ‘Doggie’ Alexander bought the bar in 1934, changed its name to the All-American Rathskeller, and owned it for the next 24 years.
They’re also bringing back the outdoor garden that dates back to the Skeller’s opening. Work is in progress, but has been slowed somewhat by the installation of new utilities, Tom Trosko said.
The custom-made booths remain intact. Photo by Geoff Rushton/StateCollege.com
But people visiting on Thursday were most interested to see what had changed and what had stayed the same inside the bar.
Kelley Trosko said a few people came in on Thursday, recorded video and left.
‘They just wanted to know that it’s here,’ she said. ‘It’s had a little bit more love and it’s here. It’s not going anywhere.’
One man sat down at the corner of the bar and said, ‘This is where I always sat before and I can’t wait to sit here again.’
And there was the first group of friends waiting for the doors to open at 2 p.m. They took a photo together and offered to have it framed for the Troskos to hang on the wall in recognition of their first customers, an offer that was gladly accepted.
The walls, untouched as they are, might be the starkest reminder of the change from All-American to Doggie’s. All the pictures and memorabilia that once hung there were the Gastigers property, and right now the walls are pretty much bare.
Despite that, Amy Unger liked how things looked. She and Kathy Ritchey, both 1984 Penn State graduates and State College residents, were among the first customers on Thursday.
‘Some of the old artwork is missing, obviously, but other than that it’s much the same and looks good,’ Unger said.
Unger and Ritchey started going to the Skeller during their college days and have been making visits ever since. Both said they feel the new iteration can carry on the long tradition of the former.
‘We wanted to check it out and see what the new owners are doing, and I think they’re going to be doing a good job,’ Ritchey said. ‘Once they open the garden, I think that’s going to be a big hit with college kids, to have another outdoor space in downtown State College.’
Photo by Steve Connelly
Josh Gugel, a 2016 Penn State graduate who now lives in the New York City area, said he couldn’t be sure how undergraduate students will take to it in the future.
‘It’s a different type of vibe than some of the other bars that have opened up,’ Gugel said. ‘I think if they have a good beer selection, that will bring in its own crowd. The alumni will like it, especially some of the older crowd.’
Gugel sat at one of the booths with Max Vido, a fellow 2016 grad who still lives in State College. Vido said he thinks the Troskos did well in upholding the Skeller’s tradition.
‘They’ve maintained a lot of the tradition of the Skeller. You can see the seating, the dark wood still. That’s going to cater to alumni pretty well,’ Vido said. ‘I think people are going to remember the good times they had here once they come in, but it’s going to be a different style. It doesn’t seem, at least right now, like it will be the rowdy, loud bar it was at times.’
Doggie’s Rathskeller will be open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. After that it will have limited hours, mostly on weekends, over the next few weeks.
‘Hopefully by mid-August and definitely by the first football game we’ll have everything ready to go,’ Kelley Trosko said.
Photo by Geoff Rushton
