You might be thinking that every downtown State College shop shut down due to the global pandemic. Actually, there are some State College stores that have had to shut down for reasons that have nothing to do with COVID-19. Some of your favorite stores, shops and pizza places are facing criticism for health code violations and are temporarily closed for business.
Located on 482 E. Calder Way, Playa Bowls, was shut down due to a health code violation. A report was filed on Monday, March 9 that contained 11 violations. Onward State reported that the Pennsylvania Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services found “food preparation areas, such as cutting boards and coolers, lacked proper sanitation and up-to-code thermometers, respectively.” Since then, the violations have been corrected and Playa Bowls has reopened.
The second location is Metro clothing store, located on 320 E. College Ave. According to the Daily Collegian, the women’s clothing store is going out of business and ‘everything must go.’ On the bright side, everything must go? SALES! If only everyone wasn’t in quarantine so we could take advantage of those sales!
A third closure in downtown State College is the temporary closure of Gumby’s Pizza, located on 300 S. Pugh Street. This pizza shop was well- known for pokey sticks and cheap prices (that is until the health code violation became known to the public). State College Health Officer Bryan O’Donnell reported that the food prep table was being used as a tattooing bed and “contamination from blood could have sprayed onto food contact surfaces or the dough mixer.” Lovely.
After the Taco Bell and Five Guys shut down, we thought it was over. Sadly, there was more to come. If any of your favorite downtown places shut down recently, let us know how you’re mourning them by tweeting us @VALLEYmag.
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