Selinsgrove golden corral (Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Carlisle: salon, lease, houses)

[fuzzy]

Does anybody know what happened to the Golden Corrral in Selinsgrove area? I noticed it has been shut down for about a month or so now. I heard rumors that it was shut down for non cleanliness. Anybody know if this is true?

[Dawne]

The manager of the Golden Corral dropped the franchise and it had been Family Buffet and Steak for quite a while. One of the waitresses told my MIL that they showed up for work one day and the locks had been changed.

Apparently the manager was not paying his bills and the owner of the building (it was leased) got fed up and closed them down. There's an auction coming up (I forget the date) for all the equipment inside, so apparently it's not even going to be a restaurant of any type any longer.

With the two car dealers nearby I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into another car lot!

With the fate of Ruby Tuesday hanging in the balance and The Rag Shop closing, it makes me sad that one more establishment has left our area.

[fuzzy]

Thanks for the reply. We used to eat there almost every Saturday. I had heard rumors about the cleanliness aspect before, The one time I ate there I got a clean plate and there was a couple pieces of pepperoni sticking to the bottom of it,LOL. It is sad that everything is going out. Never ate at Ruby Tuesday's, but a few years ago I hired a wallpaper guy and his son was the manager of it at the time. I don't know if he still is or not. I guess Phillip's is on the way out to, and I have a cousin that works there. Life is a bummer sometimes.

[Dawne]

When we went to Golden Corral I tried to never have to use the restroom. Unfortunately, my daughter usually did have to go. ICK!! Remember when they remodeled the outside of the building a few years ago? What an improvement! But the inside carpeting was still threadbare and if you spent any time looking up at the ceilings you'd notice how nasty they were. I don't really think it was so much a cleanliness issue as an age and upkeep issue. We occasionally enjoyed their weekend breakfast buffets. There just aren't any good buffets around here any more. You have to go to New Columbia to Bonanza or to Carlisle to Old Country Buffet.

Yes, Phillips closing will definitely hurt the area, especially coming right on the heels of Creation Windows closing. Hopefully some new companies will move in and fill the gap, but it may be a while, especially since our area doesn't have the tax incentives for businesses that some other areas do.

And I guess the new shopping center(s) at the old God's Holiness Grove are on hold for now too, thanks to the businesses across the road protesting PennDOT's access plans to the shopping center.

And then there's the whole new road situation, where suddenly the state doesn't have the money to do it. I'll bet if they wanted to build a bypass around Harrisburg, SWB, Philly or Pittsburgh they'd miraculously find the money.

SIGH!

But on the upside, the actual communities here are filled with wonderful people and the downtowns are experiencing upswings, especially now that Selinsgrove is in the Main Street Manager program again. Watch for great improvements there in the near future.

Even with the (I hope) temporary problems and closings here, I still can't think of anywhere else I'd rather live and raise my children.

[fuzzy]

Thanks for both replies. I was raised in Elysburg and live in Liverpool now, work below Duncannon, and hubby works in Camp Hill. I usually come up to Selinsgrove every weekend grocery shopping, I refer to coming up that way as "getting back to civilization"! LOL.

[Dawne]

Liverpool looks like such a nice little town, but I can understand your need for "civilization" every once in a while. We stopped in the little grocery story in Liverpool one time because I had forgotten something as we were heading south. It was nice, but I wouldn't want to have to rely on that for my primary grocery shopping.

What ever happened to the angel that the people used to put on top of their house at Christmas time at the south end of town, just past the ice cream stand? Did they sell the house and someone else lives there, or did something happen to the angel? I used to enjoy seeing that as we passed through during December and early January.

[fuzzy]

Well you know that little store you were talking about? The guy that manages it also used to own the house with the angel. At that time he used to run a little gift shop out of that house. Every year he used to put the angel up at Christmas time, and a witch for Halloween. He fell one year trying to put one or the other up, broke a wrist and cracked a couple of ribs if i remember right. After the gift shop, it was a beauty and tanning salon for while, and now I believe it is somebodies home.

[susquehannock]

You have to go to New Columbia to Bonanza or to Carlisle to Old Country Buffet.

Lemoyne Sleeper used to be a Bonanza and was also a Big Wrangler Steak House until the early '90s. I thought it was the best steak house on the strip.

I don't know why the Rag Shop is going out of business. It was always busy when I rode past it. There's something fishy going on with Ruby Tuesdays. It has has burned too often in a short period of time.

I heard a rumor that an Ekert Drug Store is going in where the Italian Terrace was. It was supposed to be a Charlie Brown's but they backed out.


With the two car dealers nearby I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into another car lot!

Or else another bank or auto parts store.

[Dawne]

I believe I heard that the entire Rag Shop chain is going out of business. You're right, though, the local one was always busy. This really limits crafters now to the back end of Wal-Mart or having to drive to A. C. Moore in Muncy.

From the newspaper articles, it sounds like they're investigating the prior Ruby Tuesday fires now with new eyes. They thought the others were electrical but since the last one was ruled arson, they reinvestigating.

I remember the steak houses being where Lemoyne Sleeper is, but we never ate there. Remember the mini golf course that used to be where Lowe's parking lot is now? That was a neat mini golf course.

I had also heard that the Olive Garden was looking at Bechtel's in Lewisburg, but then I most recently heard something else, and it wasn't a restaurant at all (but I forget what it was).

I'm not sure how well Charlie Brown's would do here. I was to the one in Loyalsock Township and it was okay, but nothing fantastic. Their "salad bar" was different but I didn't think it was as good as others in the area.

I really do hope that we get a few more restaurants. If they ever get the Holiness Grove straightened out there's supposed to be a Red Robin coming in there. If we had the financial backing and experience my husband and I would love to open a Fazoli's franchise. It's Italian "fast food" and they have to-die-for breadsticks and a great selection. But unfortunately they have three qualifications for a franchise - mega bucks, restaurant experience, and moral integrity. Hmm, guess one out of three won't cut it.

[susquehannock]

Yep, I remember the mini-golf course. We where there a few times with the cub scouts and when my son had a birthday party.

We tried the Charlie Brown's in Bloomsburg and we didn't care for it. We'll never go back, that's for sure. We like to stop at the Red Robin in Harrisburg. I certainly hope we get one soon. I don't think Quiznos will last. The parking lot is always empty. The prices are too steep for most of the folks in the area. I've heard a lot of complaints about their prices.