State College Borough Council on Monday unanimously approved a liquor license transfer for a Connecticut-based pizza chain’s planned downtown restaurant.
Riko’s Pizza is currently planning to open in the former Spats Cafe location at the corner of South Pugh Street and East College Avenue in late spring 2025, a spokesperson for the restaurant told StateCollege.com on Tuesday.
The restaurant intends to acquire the restaurant liquor license held by AKE Enterprises for the same premises at 136, 138 and 142 E. College Ave. and 114-116 S. Pugh St. AKE, led by Martin and Deanna Gillespie, planned to open Queenstown, a New Zealand-themed restaurant, at the location before a dispute with property owners the Herlocher family derailed the project and spurred a court battle that has lasted more than three years.
Because the liquor license was transferred into State College from College Township in 2019, it required approval by the borough with the ability for council to place restrictions on the license. Among those was that the license could not be transferred to another owner without approval by council.
The license agreement remains the same as with Queenstown, and there was no discussion among council before approving the transfer on Monday. It does not include any restriction on the ratio of food to beverage sales — a stipulation the borough often includes on license transfers to prevent new establishments from becoming bars geared toward college students.
Conditions do, however, include that it cannot be transferred to another entity in the borough without council approval; it is limited to the designated street addresses of the restaurant; alcohol sales are not permitted when food is not available; and the facility cannot be rented out to a third party.
Specializing in thin-crust, tavern-style pies, Riko’s Pizza was founded in 2011 and now has 14 corporate and franchised locations open or soon to open in Connecticut, New York, Florida, North Carolina, Vermont and Massachusetts.
“For those who aren’t familiar, tavern-style pizza is a super thin-crust, extra crispy pie that is absolutely packed with flavor,” Rico Imbrogno, CEO of Riko’s Pizza, wrote in an email to StateCollege.com earlier this year. “Tavern-style pizza dates back to the ’30s and ’40s when they were commonly served in pubs across America, also known as bar pies. Over the years, the concept of tavern-style pizza largely disappeared, but in 2011, Riko’s decided to bring it back with a brand-new approach.”
The restaurant offers more than 10 signature pizza recipes, including Hot Oil (topped with a pepper-infused olive oil), classic cheese, Nashville hot chicken, clam, meat lovers and more. Customers can also choose their own toppings, as well as original or gluten-free crust.
Other menu offerings include a variety of oven-roasted wings, Italian-American appetizers, made-to-order salads — which can also be made into salad pizzas — and desserts.
The restaurant will have a full bar with a wide selection of craft beers, wines and specialty cocktails.
“Importantly, at our new State College location, the bar will also have 22 bar stools and 14 large TVs—making it the perfect place to gather with friends and catch all the Nittany Lions games while enjoying the best pizza in town,” Imbrogno wrote.
Riko’s was originally aiming for an early fall opening in State College, though Imbrogno noted in May that challenges arise when building out a restaurant, “especially with an intricate build such as this one.”
The State College location will be operated by franchisee Mike Vigilante, a member of Riko’s corporate team from 2013 to 2023 and father of a Penn State student. Vigilante finalized a long-term lease on the College Avenue space in late 2023 and work in the first quarter of 2024.
The location has been largely dormant since Spats closed in 2018, with the exception of early work on the planned Queenstown restaurant.
After signing a five-year lease for $9,512 a month for the former Spats location and the adjoining addresses, the Gillespies began renovations.
They claim they were led to believe by the building owners that the entirety of the leased space was one contiguous property that could be operated as a restaurant. According to court filings, however, they learned from Centre Region Code Administration that was not the case and their construction plans were all deferred or denied without substantial additions. AKE then stopped paying rent in 2021.
The Gillespies filed a lawsuit in 2021 seeking to have the lease declared void, along with compensatory and punitive damages and for the Herlochers to be required to buy back the liquor license for $300,000.
The Herlochers contend it was “patently obvious” that the leased spaces were separate and discrete. They evicted the Gillespies in 2022 for failure to pay $202,740 in rent.
In addition to the back rent, the Herlochers are also seeking $300,000 for restoration of the space after it was “gutted” by the Gillespies during their renovation work.
The cases remain pending in Centre County Court. A trial was originally set for September, but has been delayed without a new date scheduled.
