State College Approves Liquor License Transfer for Buffalo Wild Wings

State College Borough Council on Monday unanimously approved a liquor license transfer for a new Buffalo Wild Wings location in a downtown high-rise.

State College Wing Company LLC plans to acquire the liquor license from the former Don Patron Mexican Grill, in Patton Township and transfer it to The Maxxen, 131 Hiester Street for the new Buffalo Wild Wings. The LLC is a subsidiary of Grube Family Investments, the largest privately owned franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings.

Council approved the transfer request without comment, having already held a public hearing on Aug. 5 and a brief work session discussion on Aug. 12.

The transfer approval is accompanied by an agreement to several conditions, which the franchisee did not oppose.

Chief among them is a requirement that at least 60% of the restaurant's revenues come from food sales, meaning no more than 40% can come from alcohol. The franchisee will be required to provide quarterly reports verifying that it is complying with the sales ratio.

Attorney Mark Kozar, who represented the franchisee for the transfer request, said at the public hearing that Buffalo Wild Wings is “family-friendly, casual dining sports restaurant,” where alcohol is a complement to the food, not the primary attraction. Average alcohol sales for the chain's location represent only 14.5% of revenues, with 81.5% from food and the remainder from non-alcoholic beverages

Because State College exceeds the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board quota of one restaurant liquor license per 3,000 population, intermunicipal license transfers require borough approval. With that, the borough can require agreement to conditions for approval.

Since intermunicipal license transfers became permitted in the early 2000s, State College historically has required conditions for approval, mostly in an effort to prevent more businesses that are primarily bars for college students.

Other conditions of the agreement for Buffalo Wild Wings include:

• Alcohol can only be sold when food is available for purchase.

• The license cannot be expanded beyond the premises of 131 Hiester Street without borough approval.

• The license cannot be transferred to another location or business within State College without borough approval.

• The entire indoor premises must be non-smoking.

• Alcoholic drink containers cannot exceed 22 ounces.

On the last condition, Mitchell Grube, chief operating officer of Grube Inc., said Buffalo Wild Wings' largest alcoholic drink size is an 18.5-ounce tall beer and it does not serve pitchers.

“We’re definitely a food destination first,” Grube said. “I don’t think people go to us to drink first. They go to us to eat first and drink as a secondary option.”

Grube Family investments operates 66 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in eight states. The State College location would be Grube’s first in Pennsylvania, though the national chain has 29 restaurants under other franchisees in the commonwealth.

Known for its chicken wings, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants offer traditional, boneless and cauliflower wings with 26 sauces and rubs, as well as burgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps, tacos, salads and a kids menu.

The State College location will have seating for 260 — 214 inside and 46 on a patio. It is tentatively expected to be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, and at the start will employ 80 to 100 people.

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