It's not every day that someone is told to "practice safe Mex" before going out to dinner.
But that's just what will be going on when Mad Mex, a branch of the Pittsburgh-based company Big Burrito, opens in late September. The restaurant will replace the Silver Screen Grille at the Days Inn Penn State, 240 S. Pugh St. Tom Krieger, general manager of the State College Mad Mex, describes the food as "Cal-Mex."
"We try to do a fresher product in a funkier atmosphere," Krieger said.
The restaurant will feature everything, ranging from food made from scratch to the fresh juices mixed into their signature margaritas, Krieger added. Mad Mex Director of Operations Gene Mangrum gave another description of Mad Mex's menu. "Cal-Mex gives you the license to put anything you want into a tortilla," he said.
Heavy emphasis will be placed on drafts, microbrews and the restaurant's margaritas. Mangrum said the inside of the restaurant will offer 24 beers on tap, with an additional 12 beers on tap outside, including the restaurant's own house brew.
Also, $30,000 is being spent on margarita-dispensing equipment, he said.
In addition to food and drinks, T-shirts that say "practice safe Mex" will be available.
The new restaurant will be approximately 3,000 square feet on the inside and 2,000 square feet in the outdoor pavilion, seating about 200 people.
The Days Inn is teaming up with Mad Mex in the hotel's first collaboration with a chain restaurant.
"It's a joint-venture with a mini-chain with quality operations. The probability of us being successful is very high," said Mark Morath, president of HAMCO (Hospitality Asset Management Company), which manages the Days Inn Penn State.
The Silver Screen Grille, which used to occupy the space now designated for Mad-Mex, was a cinema-themed restaurant that opened in the early 1990s.
"The market for that type of restaurant in State College was minimal," Morath said, explaining why the Days Inn discontinued the Silver Screen Grille.
Upon its opening, Mad Mex will also cater banquets held at the Days Inn.
