The Corner Room's motto, "Meet Me at the Corner," has been known among Penn State students for more than 70 years -- and one of the secrets of its longevity is keeping things simple and unchanged, managers say. The Corner Room, 100 W. College Ave., has been at its present location since 1926. Though the venue is known across generations of Penn State alumni, the property has changed hands only three times.
"It started out as Jack's Roadhouse," State College Mayor Bill Welch said. "It was back when Old Main was the only building in town. Jack's dates from 1867."
It became the Corner Room in 1926 -- an opening commemorated with a large plaque outside the restaurant. What is impressive, general manager Sandra Jeffers said, is how true to the origins of the restaurant the owners have stayed.
"Our standard menu is like the way the original owners had it," Jeffers said. "We've changed a few things around to stay with the times, but the usual items will always stay standard."
The food isn't the only constant. Alumni such as Welch have been eating at the restaurant since it was a relatively new facility in town.
"I've been going to the Corner Room for about 65 years," Welch said. "One of the appealing things about the Corner Room is that it's a mixture of ages and circumstances."
Consistency is what keeps the customers coming back, former professor Richard Alden said as he ate a salad in the restaurant Sunday.
"The place is a major tradition around here," said Alden, who taught in the art department from 1969 until 2008. "A place like this -- it never changes. There would probably be an uproar if someone came in here and changed it."
Though alumni often make up the majority of the daily audience for the restaurant, Welch said the Corner Room "still gets its fair share of student clients."
The owner before the current group was notable Penn State alumnus and real estate giant Sidney Friedman, who died April 4. Friedman had bought the property in 1971 after proposing to his wife in the Corner Room years earlier, his son Ed Friedman said. Friedman owned the property until its sale in the 1980s.
In addition to the Corner Room, the current group of owners -- who have run the restaurant for almost 25 years -- also own Hotel State College, the Allen Street Grill and Zeno's Pub, all in the same building. Each thrives by catering to a different set of clients, Jeffers said.
"We're a completely different atmosphere here," Jeffers said.
The Allen Street Grill is known more for its fine dining, whereas the Corner Room is centered on casual dining, she said.
As Welch says, "they're covering all the bases in one location ... and only one liquor license."
Alden pointed out the atmosphere of the restaurant is unlike any other restaurant in town. Alden used to take his art students to the Corner Room to have them paint portraits of the servers there, he said.
Aside from providing different atmospheres to their customers, Jeffers said having multiple shops open across the same owners has additional benefits.
"You're able to use any resources you need on-the-go," Jeffers said. "And you can pull employees from other places if you're short-staffed."
The food is different at the "sister restaurants," but the Corner Room is traditional pub food, Welch said, with specials to attract students and keep demand strong.
"Pasta night is very popular with students," Welch said. "But it's probably best known for their hamburgers and sandwiches done 'a la Corner,' done like a sort of a club. They've had that as a feature forever."
