Buffalo Wild Wings Seeks Liquor License Transfer for Downtown State College Location

The Maxxen, 131 Hiester Street, State College. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com

Seven years after abandoning plans for a location in Ferguson Township, Buffalo Wild Chicken Wings could finally arrive in the Centre region.

The national restaurant chain has requested the transfer of a liquor license to The Maxxen building, 131 Hiester Street in downtown State College, according to the agenda for Monday’s Borough Council work session. The liquor license would be acquired and transferred from the former Don Patron Mexican Grill, which closed its restaurant at 1653 N. Atherton St. in Patton Township in 2017 and has held the license in a secure location.

Buffalo Wild Wings public relations did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a commercial leasing agent for The Maxxen could not be reached Friday.

The restaurant and sports bar franchise had previously submitted plans in 2015 for a 5,440-square-foot location at 1308 N. Atherton St., near the intersection with Blue Course Drive in Ferguson Township. However, after several deadline extensions, the plans were scrapped. retired in 2017.

Several engineering issues, which the township’s planning director at the time described as “not insurmountable,” were identified in the plans, including needed traffic improvements.

At Maxxen, Buffalo Wild Wings would join El Jefe’s Taqueria, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill and Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which are scheduled to open this fall.

The city council is expected to discuss the liquor license transfer Monday and will hold a public hearing on Aug. 5.

When Pennsylvania’s liquor code was amended in 2002 to allow intermunicipal transfers within a county, it included a requirement for approval by the receiving municipality if it held more than one liquor license per 3,000 residents. Although State College’s numbers fluctuated, they were consistently above the quota during that period.

The district can and generally has imposed restrictions on a transferred license — although those restrictions have varied from case to case and required lengthy debate.

In the most recent case of a restaurant comparable to Buffalo Wild Wings, Brothers Bar and GrillThe restaurant at 134 S. Allen St. was required to have a “food clause” ensuring that the size and scope of its menu would not change. The measure is intended to ensure that the restaurant does not over time morph into a late-night bar catering solely to students.

The last transfer of liquor licenses in the borough was approved in May 2023 for Figo Italian Restaurantwhich has yet to open at The Standard, 330 W. College Ave. For the move, the council added a requirement that no more than 40 percent of the restaurant’s revenue could come from alcohol sales.