Bits of Business: Jersey Mike’s opens North Atherton location, helps Pink Zone

Jersey Mike’s franchise owners Matt and Kristie Patterson opened their second State College restaurant Thursday, at 2009 N. Atherton St., by giving away free sandwiches.

“One of the big things we do is that when franchises open it’s a charity grand opening, and we partnered with the Pink Zone,” Matt Patterson said. “We passed out 10,000 free sub cards in the community. Everyone with the card that donates at least $2 to Pink Zone gets their free sub. That’s a win-win for everyone.”

The restaurant can seat 63 inside and more outside in warmer months.

The Pattersons, Penn State alumni, moved back to the area a few years ago to open the Jersey Mike’s sub shop on South Allen Street.

“It seemed like a natural progression to open another place on North Atherton,” Matt Patterson said. “We love our downtown store, but we heard from some customers that they couldn’t get down there as much. The North Atherton corridor is a busy area, and we found a prime piece of real estate, so who knows how ambitious we’ll get in the future?”

Primanti Bros. delays opening

First impressions are important.

Kevin Kassab, a supervisor in the State College Borough’s Division of Health and Neighborhood Services, said that’s probably why Primanti Bros. would delay its opening.

Primanti spokeswoman Amy Smith said this summer that the Pittsburgh-based chain restaurant would open in downtown State College in December, but Kassab said that won’t happen until at least late January.

“This is a great addition to our pretty great downtown, but we just have to wait a little longer for it,” Kassab said.

Smith did not return requests for comment on the delay.

“I have done this for 27 years, and they all have a hope to open as quick as possible,” Kassab said. “Based on construction, equipment ordered and installed and things of that nature sometimes things don’t happen as soon as everyone hopes, and obviously when places open they want to do a great job from day one. They want to put on a great show, so it’s probably that the corporation decided not to rush for the sake of rushing. That’s why you get a delay.”

Primanti Bros. will replace Gingerbread Man, which closed in June.

Financial center to open in State College

The Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union, which is based out of Harrisburg, will open a financial center at 502 E. College Ave.

The credit union serves about 425,000 members and has $4 billion in assets.

“We are excited to provide our members in the State College community with even more resources to achieve their personal and financial goals,” CEO and President Greg Smith said in a statement. “We feel privileged to be a part of our members’ lives and are always looking for new ways to provide even more service to them. In this instance, we felt it was important to create a physical presence in the community to show our commitment and appreciation.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2014 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Bits of Business: Jersey Mike’s opens North Atherton location, helps Pink Zone."