New State College Starbucks Slated for Late Spring Opening; Closing Date Set for Garner Street Location

One of the nation’s most popular coffee chains is now providing a bit of clarity as it prepares to shuffle its offerings in State College.

The Starbucks at 141 S. Garner St. will officially close its doors on Sunday, Jan. 15, the store said in a social media post. The Centre Court shop’s closure will make way for a new Starbucks location on the ground floor of the Pugh Centre apartment complex, 150 E. Beaver Ave., that will open at some point in May.

“We would like to thank you for being a part of our store community,” the Garner Street Starbucks staff wrote in an Instagram post. “We are very thankful to have played a role in your daily routine and that you have shared these moments of your life with us. We hope that you will continue to visit us and allow us to serve you at one of our neighboring stores.”

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A post shared by State College Starbucks on South Garner St. (@starbucks.southgarner)

With “coming soon” signs already in its windows, the Pugh Centre Starbucks is under construction. Once open, it will join several nearby coffee shops such as Webster’s Bookstore Cafe, Dunkin’, W.C. Clarke’s and Elixir Coffee Roasters.

The Pugh Centre location is expected to employ around 25 workers, a Starbucks representative said. Employees may include those who are displaced following the Garner Street shop’s closure.

The Pugh Centre’s Starbucks will join a handful of existing locations in the State College area, including two that are owned and operated by Penn State Housing & Food Services. Despite the Garner Street shop’s closure, the planned Pugh Centre franchise will maintain Starbucks’ eight-franchise grasp over the region, including locations at:

• 2030 N. Atherton St.
• 315 Colonnade Blvd. inside Target
• 232 W. College Ave.
• 126 Paterno Library on Penn State’s campus
• 30 HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State’s campus
• 201 W. Beaver Ave. inside the downtown State College Target
• 2121 S. Atherton St. inside the Giant supermarket

The Pugh Centre complex opened in August 2020 and replaced State College’s former CVS Pharmacy building. The seven-story building offers 6,000 square feet of vacant commercial space on its bottom two floors and apartments on the five remaining levels. Starbucks will be the first business to open in the building.