New market and café proposed in Patton Township. Here’s what to know

The Patton Township Planning Commission unanimously approved final land development plans Monday for a market and café that would be built across from a long-vacant general store.

Located at 2781 Buffalo Run Road, also known as Pennsylvania Route 550, the 3,300-square-foot Fillmore Market and Café would be built on a 3.66-acre parcel that has land on both the north and south sides of the roadway. The market and café will be built on the north side, and a building that was once the Fillmore General Store sits on the south side. That vacant building would be demolished as part of the plans.

The business is being developed by Philadelphia-based contractor JCP Group, Inc, and would offer indoor and outdoor seating, 26 parking spaces, bicycle parking and a drive-thru. The café would serve coffee, baked goods and other breakfast items, and the market would sell other pre-packaged foods and merchandise.

Because the business is located within a rural residence zoning district, the township’s zoning hearing board had to grant it a use variance in May. At that time, a stipulation was added that the former general store and its parking lot be demolished and returned to its natural state.

“In the area on the northern side of [Route] 550 there is a stream, wetlands, so it’s a very sensitive area,” Centre Regional Planning Agency Principle Planner Jenna Wargo said during Monday’s Planning Commission meeting. “This is an improvement — having that building demo’d, having that site back to its natural state and moving all this [development] over to the opposite side of the roadway.”

The general store’s original owners sold it in 1988 and it’s unclear when it closed its doors for good, though it was open in 2010.

The only questions about the development at Monday’s meeting came from planning commission member Ellen Foreman, who asked if it would be possible to get a bike lane installed on Buffalo Run Road, due to its popularity among cyclists.

But Wargo said that since the road is state-owned, the township couldn’t use the development to impose the creation of a bike lane. Township Manager Amy Farkas said it’s something to consider for future planning, however.

“That’s actually a good comment, and a larger bike path along Route 550 is something that the [Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization] could be asked to consider in the future,” Farkas said. “It would depend on funding and other things, but it’s a good comment that can be forwarded for the Long Term Transportation Plan.”

Foreman also shared some concerns about drive-thru traffic spilling out onto the roadway, similar to what can be seen at the North Atherton Street Chick-Fil-A on busy days.

Michael Pratt, the director of Keller Engineering’s State College branch and a JCP Group representative, said a problem like that would not arise due to the combination of a 14-car drive-thru stall, and an average 1.67 minute wait time per vehicle in the drive-thru, as determined by a traffic study.

Moving forward, the market and café’s development plans will need to be approved by the township’s supervisors, who hold their meetings at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. A timeline for construction was not provided at Monday’s meeting.

This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 2:17 PM.