The Eat’n Park on Washington Pike in Collier will have a new pickup window, a salad bar, and 100 additional seats when it reopens later this year after renovation.
The structure was destroyed. On April 2, the demolition was carried out to pave the way for the improvements. Allison Park Contractors, based in West Deer, conducted the demolition.
“By the end of the year, we will have a new restaurant open at this location,” stated Courtney Caprara, Eat’n Park spokeswoman.
The Collier Eat’n Park was constructed in 1956, according to Caprara.
The original building was 4,475 square feet, as per Jesse Stock, Senior Director of Facilities and Design for Eat’n Park. The upgraded building will be about 6,900 square feet, allowing for approximately 100 more seats.
“Our guests are particularly enthusiastic about the pickup window and salad bar,” Caprara noted. “These features are present in many of our restaurants.
“We had been considering this project for a while, and the timing has finally worked out.”
According to Caprara, restaurant staff were offered jobs at other Eat’n Park locations during the construction period. The restaurant will also be hiring for new positions prior to the reopening.
“We plan to make these investments throughout our operations to provide the best experience for customers,” Caprara added.
To accommodate a road widening project, the new, larger restaurant will be relocated further away from Washington Pike.
PennDOT has reported that the road widening project commenced in November 2022 and is expected to cost approximately $5.6 million. The project will include a left turning lane at the Washington Pike and Vanadium Road intersection, as well as the removal of the existing dual driveways at Eat’n Park.
Additional plans at the intersection involve new sidewalks, updated curb ramps, upgrades to the traffic light, signing and pavement markings, guardrail adjustments, and other construction. The objective of the project is to ease traffic congestion, according to PennDOT.
