A special 35th Anniversary Ale will be on tap, specially brewed for Zeno's by Otto's Pub & Brewery in State College. Charlie Schnable, the brewer/owner, got into good beer in college by hanging out at Zeno's, said Zeno's general manager Dave Staab.
If you go, you will be treated to a mustache and sideburn contest as a joke in between a set break.
"This event should be a lot of fun. Zeno's always has a laid back, cool atmosphere with a wide range of personality types in attendance," Staab said.
Funk soul band The Blue Method is looking forward to putting on two great shows at Zeno's, one on Saturday night and another for the anniversary party, said guitarist Mike Patriarca. He said the band will play songs from its new album, Kill the Music Volume 2.
"We just got the finished product a few days ago and are really excited about it," Patriarca said.
Zeno's has been rated as one of the "top 50 best places to have a beer in America" by beeradvocate.com. It was also featured as college bar of the month in Playboy magazine. Chris and Zeno Pappas opened Zeno's in 1972, and current owners John Cocolin and Mike Desmond purchased it in 1986.
State College in general, and Zeno's in particular, is recognized as the starting point for Yuengling Brewery's explosion back in the '90s, Staab said.
"We did a promotion called "Meet the Brewer" on a Tuesday with Dick Yuengling and by 5 in the afternoon, we had people packed everywhere and they started chanting for the guests and adopting Penn State football cheers to Yuengling -- one side of the room yelling 'ying' and the other side yelling ' ling,' " Staab said.
Patriarca said Zeno's is the "quintessential college music venue."
"It's small, but has a great atmosphere, not to mention every beer imaginable," he said. "There's such a good vibe here from the audience and there's always a great crowd."
