Businesses new and old come to downtown Philipsburg for sense of ‘community’

There’s new energy in downtown Philipsburg.

In the past year, six new businesses moved to Philipsburg’s downtown area, which is seeing a steady revitalization. Now, three more businesses are joining that tally.

209 East Sandwich Joint

209 East Sandwich Joint, run by Deb Hubler, is opening in State Rep. Scott Conklin’s former office on 209 E. Presqueisle St. Hubler said she plans to sell sandwiches, wraps, hoagies and salads.

“Fresh produce, fresh sandwiches, fresh everything” is the vibe she is going for, she said. But there’s a twist — she’ll be serving sandwiches with a side of hippie. The rest of her shop will feature pottery, wall hangings, bags, jewelry, handmade soap and other “head shop” materials evoking the 1960s and ‘70s.

“It’s just something I like,” she said.

On the store’s Facebook page, part of the description reads: “We strive to keep 209 East peaceful, therefore, all food is take out. Browsing is encouraged as we take you back to a happier, hipper time.”

The location in downtown Philipsburg is in a highly-trafficked area, Hubler said, and the space is affordable.

Hubler plans to stay open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to cater to working people in need of a quick lunch or dinner. She plans to open the shop June 6. For more information and daily lunch specials, visit www.facebook.com/209East.

C&C Tropical Paradise Pet Shop

Craig Wood, who has owned and operated C&C Tropical Paradise Pet Shop for 27 years in Philipsburg, said he finally decided move downtown from Peebles Plaza off U.S. Route 322.

The shop at 133 N. Front St. features an array of reptiles, like corn snakes, king snakes, rat snakes, bearded dragons, geckos, tortoises — and ball pythons, which Wood breeds as a side business. The store also offers small, furry creatures like hamsters, mice, rats, guinea pigs and ferrets.

Over the years, Wood has shifted focus to offer “high quality” dog and cat food, though the store doesn’t carry dogs or cats.

When he opened the store, Wood said, he “wanted to have a place that people could come to get quality stuff.”

Wood and his father decided to open the store together, after Wood left the construction business. He bought the store from his father in in 1999, and has been at it ever since.

“I always believed that there should be something in this area for people to have pets,” he said.

The new space downtown will be woodsy, and more personal than, say, a Walmart, he said. Reptiles will be in a separate room, because some customers drive hundreds of miles to see Wood’s array of reptiles and collection of ball pythons.

Wood is already settling in at his downtown location. Store hours are Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ccpets or www.facebook.com/newlibertyreptiles.

Timberland Federal Credit Union

Timberland Federal Credit Union, currently located at 308 Walton St. in Philpsburg, is moving to the Moshannon Building at 215 N. Front St., becoming one of the first tenants of the Philipsburg Historical Society since the estate of Walter Swoope, Jr. donated the property.

“We’re making the move just because the downtown area is kind of opening up and we are ... truly community minded, and we kind of want to be down in the community,” said TFCU Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Joel Slagan.

TFCU has two locations in Centre County — the Philipsburg branch that opened in 2016 and a Pleasant Gap branch that opened last year.

“We’re moving to an area where there’s a lot more commercial places where we can really interact with the community,” said Slagan.

The new building has more space than the current location, and will be more accessible to foot traffic, he said.

“We’re really excited because it seems like a very close knit community downtown,” he said.

At the new location, he said, TFCU hopes to work closely with the historical foundation and feature paintings and photos that evoke a historical, community feeling.

“I know that we’re looking forward to gaining a lot more memberships, a lot more relationships ... (and) doing our niche and our niche is being able to help out people in the community,” he said.

This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 4:12 PM.