State College Burger King near Penn State’s campus has closed. Here’s what we know
State College is down one more fast-food restaurant.
The Burger King at 521 University Drive, just a few blocks from Penn State’s campus, officially closed Monday. According to shift manager Robert Selfridge, who answered the phone at the location Wednesday, the restaurant had planned last year to close the location — but not until opening a new Burger King elsewhere.
Those plans changed as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, Selfridge said, presumably due to a decline in sales. (According to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, the county’s tourism promotion agency, area restaurants lost about 85% of their revenue during a two-month stretch of the pandemic.)
Selfridge said he remained under the impression a new Burger King would still open locally, “but there’s no confirmation.” Burger King’s corporate office also did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
According to both Selfridge and several signs posted on the restaurant’s doors and windows, employees at the University Drive location will now join the Burger King at 2501 E. College Ave., which is about 3 miles away.
The closest Burger King for Penn State students remains the location in the HUB-Robeson Center on campus — although all dining there is temporarily closed due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. That means the town’s only options for those craving a Whopper currently include the locations at 2501 E. College Ave. and 901 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte, about 10 miles away.
“We cannot thank you enough for your years of patronage, and we are all looking forward to seeing you at the East College Ave. location,” a sign at the closed Burger King read.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 3:45 PM.
