One Business Closes, Another to Open in College Township Plaza

A clothing store has closed and another business is getting ready to open in the same College Township shopping plaza.

Women’s clothing retailer Cato Fashions, which was located at 321A Benner Pike in the plaza anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross, closed on Dec. 24. 

A sign at the entrance to the store directed customers to the Cato location at Logan Town Center in Altoona or to shop online. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company saw sales and earnings drop well below those of 2016 and the company reported in November it would close 26 stores this year, more than expected, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.

Cato’s closing makes for another of several vacant storefronts in the plaza. At least one new business, however, is on pace to open in the plaza in 2018.

A locally-owned franchise of Tastebuds Kitchen is preparing to open at 331 Benner Pike. Founded in New York City in 2007, Tastebuds Kitchen offers culinary experiences for kids and adults.

The company is billed as a ‘kids kitchen by day and a BYOB adult kitchen by night.’ It offers cooking classes, parties and special events ‘that combine a mix of hands-on engaging recipes, both savory and sweet, for kids and adults,’ according to its website.

Tastebuds Kitchen State College, owned by Susan McWhirter and Lucy Alvarez, will be the company’s ninth franchise and first in Pennsylvania. Work is under way to build the kitchen studio at the Benner Pike location, and according to the local franchise’s Facebook page it is expected to open in February.