Tavern-Style Pizza Restaurant to Open in Former Spats Cafe Location

A new restaurant is finally coming to the corner of South Pugh Street and East College Avenue in downtown State College.

Connecticut-based Riko's Pizza is planning to open in the former Spats Cafe location at 142 E. College Ave., above Doggie's Pub in the Foster/Gentzel building. The State College location will be Riko's first in Pennsylvania.

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, where its newest restaurant opened last week.

"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. "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."

Riko's pizzas are 13 inches with six slices and can be ordered with original or gluten-free crust. 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.

"Our pizza offerings are unlike any other," Imbrogno wrote. "These pies are truly loved by everyone, and we cannot wait to introduce them to Penn State and the State College community."

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," the Imbrogno wrote.

Riko's is aiming for an early fall opening in State College, though "challenges always arise when building a restaurant, especially with an intricate build such as this one," Imbrogno wrote.

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 build out began in the first quarter of this year.

Riko's expects to hire 30 to 45 staff members at the State College location once open, including kitchen staff, wait staff, bartenders, bussers and other onsite employees. More information on applying will be available at rikospizza.com/StateCollege .

A number of factors went into bringing Riko's to State College, "but above all, we were attracted to the college town community and atmosphere, which aligns perfectly with what we offer as a concept," Imbrogno said.

"Beyond our amazing food, Riko’s is also famous for our local neighborhood atmosphere that caters to families, friends, colleagues, sports fans, parties and events alike. Bottom line, there is something for everyone at Riko’s Pizza.

Riko's new home on College Avenue has sat empty for more than six years since Spats closed and another planned new restaurant was derailed by a lease dispute.

Spats and the neighboring Rathskellar closed after proprietors Duke and Monica Gastiger and building owners Cornelius LLC, led by Charles and Neil Herlochers, failed to reach an agreement on a new lease in what became a high-profile public dispute .

AKE Enterprise, owned by Martin and Deanna Gillespie, submitted plans for Queenstown, a New Zealand-themed restaurant, and acquired a liquor license for the space in 2019. After signing a five-year lease for $9,512 a month for the former Spats location, as well as the adjoining 138 E. College Ave. and 114 S. Pugh St., 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 are pending in Centre County Court, with trial scheduled for September.

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