"What is it that we need down here, with something different and unique, but something that our local community is still really going to love and want to come do." Danielle Short, general manager of Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar, described the planning behind the restaurant that way to PennLive on the day it opened in March.
That question has come up up and down Chocolate Avenue this year. Between January and October 2026, the corridor saw a restaurant close and reopen under its old name, a cocktail bar replace a barbecue spot, a 27-year-old burger restaurant set a closing date, and a former pharmacy picked to become the first Mellow Mushroom in Pennsylvania. Most of the new signs went up over businesses run by people who were already on Chocolate Avenue. The owners making these changes are largely the same owners who were there before. Some are local restaurateurs, one is a brewpub brand that came back, and one is Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. Each is reworking a building it already controlled or recently bought.
Here's the avenue, west to east, and who is behind each change.
The west end: two neighbors, each reinvented by its own owner
At the western edge of town, two buildings sit side by side, and both got a new concept from the people who already ran them.
1201 W. Chocolate Ave. used to be Smoked Bar & Grill. Its owners closed it in November 2025 to rework the space, and on June 6, 2026 it reopened as Reunion Cocktails + Provisions, with a cocktail-focused bar and a gastropub-style menu. The partners are Brian Roadarmel and Matthew Rabb, who also own Chocolate Avenue Grille in Derry Township, and Jeff Sorg, whose State College businesses include Hotel State College, the Corner Room and Zeno's Pub. "We wanted to build something that was unique to the market," Roadarmel told PennLive. The name refers to reuniting with other people. Back in early spring, PennLive's preview listed the coming concept as Revival Cocktails + Kitchen, so if you remember that name, it's the same project under its final name.
1221 W. Chocolate Ave. is next door. Fuddruckers served its last meals there on Sunday, August 30, 2026, after 27 years. The closing was planned well ahead of time. Owner Jeff Roth is redeveloping the property himself. The plan is to demolish the Fuddruckers building and build a 4,000-square-foot Turning Point restaurant along with two 2,000-square-foot retail spaces. Derry Township's Board of Supervisors approved the final land development plan at its April 14, 2026 meeting.
Turning Point serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. The chain was founded in 1998 in Little Silver, New Jersey, and has about 40 locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Virginia and New Jersey. Roth already owns two, including one that opened in Camp Hill in 2025 in a former Friendly's. Roth has said the restaurant will give Hershey more breakfast and lunch options. As of PennLive's August report, no opening timeline had been announced.
So as of early October, the west end has one new place open, and the building next door is waiting on demolition with no opening date yet.
Downtown: Hershey Entertainment & Resorts reworks its own addresses
Closer to the center of town, the biggest player is Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. The company has been repurposing buildings rather than bringing in outside tenants.
27 W. Chocolate Ave. is inside The Hershey Press Building. After nearly 20 years, Houlihan's stayed open there through December 31, 2025. HE&R then opened Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar in the space on March 11, 2026. The space has a sleek, minimalist look and a casual menu of smash burgers, salads and entrees. It also has high-tech darts and tabletop trivia. Short said the company studied restaurant trends in other cities and weighed them against the local Hershey market before settling on the concept.
337 W. Chocolate Ave. is the brick former Rite Aid with white pillars and gold lettering. It has a roller coaster behind it and a Hershey's Kiss streetlight out front. Rite Aid announced in June 2025 that the store would close. On September 25, CKAD Holdings LLC sold the property to Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. A company spokesperson said the site was being used as part of the Hershey Lumberyard construction project, where the Hershey Trust Co. plans short-term housing for students and employees.
On October 1, 2026, HE&R announced the building's long-term use. Mellow Mushroom is slated to open there in fall 2027 in an 8,000-square-foot restaurant that HE&R will own and operate. It will be the stone-baked pizza brand's first location in Pennsylvania. The menu will include hand-tossed pizzas, shareable munchies, salads, sandwiches, wraps, smash-style burgers and desserts. The decor will mix the brand's retro-psychedelic style with nods to Hershey's chocolate legacy and hometown history. Dine-in, take-out and delivery are all planned. PennLive's October 1 story said the restaurant would open "this fall." The HE&R release and ABC27 both give fall 2027, so the building will likely stay dark for about another year.
101 W. Chocolate Ave. came back under its old name. Iron Hill Restaurant & Brewery closed in 2025 when the chain went bankrupt, and the building was bought by IHB Harrisburg. In March, PennLive was still calling a reopening speculation. On Monday, June 1, 2026, the 10,000-square-foot brewpub reopened as Iron Hill. General Manager Matt Roegner returned to the job and the restaurant brought 90 jobs back. Iron Hill marked the reopening with Kiss of Hops, a new East Coast juicy IPA brewed for the Hershey location. Iron Hill's Hershey page now lists the location as open, with hours, reservations and online ordering.
The east end: a second Derry Township address for Freshido
The pattern holds on the east side of town as well. Freshido is a central Pennsylvania Asian chain that already had a restaurant in Derry Township. In February it announced a second one, Freshido Bar & Kitchen, at the former Duke's Bar & Grill at 1715 E. Chocolate Ave. The plans include a full bar, sushi, small plates and classic Asian dishes. Owners Benson Chan and Shawn You have been working on the project for some time. The announcement said it would open "later this year." As of now, the company's locations page still shows Hershey as "Coming Soon," with no date.
The avenue at a glance, as of October 4, 2026
Here's where each address stands, west to east:
- 1221 W. Chocolate Ave. Fuddruckers closed August 30, 2026. A Turning Point and two retail spaces are approved for the site, with no opening date announced.
- 1201 W. Chocolate Ave. Reunion Cocktails + Provisions has been open since June 6, 2026, in the former Smoked Bar & Grill.
- 337 W. Chocolate Ave. The former Rite Aid is now owned by HE&R. Mellow Mushroom is targeted for fall 2027.
- 101 W. Chocolate Ave. Iron Hill Restaurant & Brewery has been open again since June 1, 2026.
- 27 W. Chocolate Ave. Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar has been open since March 11, 2026, in the former Houlihan's at The Hershey Press Building.
- 1715 E. Chocolate Ave. Freshido Bar & Kitchen is listed as coming soon, with no opening date.
Of the six addresses, three are open now with new or returning tenants. One has a confirmed opening season more than a year out, and two are waiting on owners who have not set a date. Every one of them is tied to an operator who was already part of Hershey's dining scene or, in Iron Hill's case, the brand that was there before.
Two downtown dates before the next opening
Downtown has two events on the calendar while the pending openings wait.
- Choctoberfest is Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Downtown Hershey. Visit Hershey & Harrisburg's calendar lists ChocolateTown Square Park as the location.
- Light Up Downtown Hershey, the holiday celebration and tree lighting, is listed for December 5, 2026 at ChocolateTown Square Park. The Downtown Hershey Association's holiday page still shows a Saturday, December 6 date from an earlier year, so the December 5 listing is the one to put on the calendar. The Association describes the evening as a chance to shop and dine along Chocolate Avenue.
If you own a home near Chocolate Avenue and wonder how a year of redevelopment along the corridor might fit into your home's story when you eventually sell, Ellen Stover is happy to talk it through using what's actually been approved, opened and scheduled. Schedule a free consultation & home valuation, and we'll start with your block.
