STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ)– The Waffle Shop–at 364 East College Avenue–has been a staple of Downtown State College for nearly 50 years. But, the restaurant has stayed closed since March, 19 (more than five months).
This has some wondering: will the eatery ever re-open?
A question that owner Gregory Kight, who owns the Downtown State College and Bellefonte Waffle Shops, answered directly to WTAJ Wednesday.
“We’re definitely going to re-open. There’s no question about that. We worked too hard for 19 years not to come back. We’ll definitely be back,” Kight said. “We want to come back bad…we want to get ready to go again.”
Kight added: “This is the longest that I haven’t worked since I was 13 years old. It’s not a good feeling. The first month off may have been fun, but now it’s serious.”
Why has The Waffle Shop remained closed?
According to Kight, there’s one key reason: PA’s policy capping restaurants at 25% indoor capacity.
He said at one point earlier this year, he was ready to open his restaurants at 50% capacity (back when this was PA’s policy for eateries).
“And then they lowered it to 25%,” Kight said.
At 25% capacity, he said his downtown location can hold a max of about 20 people–which he feels is just not enough customers to guarantee a profitable business.
“It’s very tough,” Kight said, telling WTAJ that the business’s success is based on a model of bringing in large numbers of customers, serving them quickly, and then “turning tables” to seat new patrons.
“We could petition off booths and make it so you’re able to turn the tables fast. But I don’t know how patient customers are to wait,” Kight added.
And there won’t be many allowed to wait in line outside.
Fewer customers in line
Kight said the Downtown State College Waffle Shop typical sees as many as 50 customers waiting in line when Penn State students are on campus.
But, a State College Borough Ordinance passed at the beginning of August limits lines for businesses to 10 people.
“By limiting the number of people that can wait outside, I just don’t know how patient our customers are gonna be. It definitely puts a wrench in business. We do turn our line very fast, but it’s a concern for us,” Kight said.
Given the layout of his downtown location, Kight added that it would be difficult to add outdoor seating since his storefront boarders a popular and fairly narrow sidewalk along College Avenue.
Concerns of throwing out food
In addition to concerns related to a limited line capacity, Kight said he may also have trouble generating a profit by having to throw away prepped or spoiled foods.
“At what point are you throwing product away because you can’t get the people in here. You can make small batches of product—but I never want to run out. I don’t want someone to come in here and want something and have us not be able to deliver. I won’t do it,” Kight said.
Future plans to re-open
Kight would not give an official timeline for when he will re-open his two restaurant’s.
He did say that if PA allowed restaurants to operate at 50% capacity, he would “definitely look to open at that time.”
While Kight acknowledged the financial hardship nearly all local business owners are encountering, he said thus far he “hasn’t missed a beat” on monthly costs for rent and insurance.
Kight did not use any Federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money. This means his restaurants could be among the first small businesses eligible for Covid-19 relief funds handed out by the Centre County Commissioners.
The county has set aside approximately $6 million dollars for small businesses and must prioritize businesses who haven’t received PPP money.
It’s expected that an application for this funding will be released in the near future.
Bellefonte Location
The Waffle Shop Kight owns at 127 W Bishop Street in Bellefonte is also currently closed, but Kight said he plans to open this restaurant in the future too.
“Here we are sitting and waiting and at some point have the pull the trigger to get back open–we’re looking at all the options to look and see which way is the best for us to go,” Kight said.