The opening of Primanti Brothers, 130 Heister St., has been delayed until mid-January.

“There’s no rush for us to open,” Greg DuBois, general manager of Primanti Brothers, said. “We want to make sure it’s done right and it’s a memorable experience for our fans when they come in.”

The restaurant is not opening until next month because the business is doing a complete demolition remodel, DuBois said. A lot of work goes into that, the “head coach” said.

“Every time you open a restaurant, you run into something,” Lila Prezioso, marketing director of Primanti Brothers, said.

Prezioso blames the delay on the project being a renovation instead of a straight build, she said.

Operations director Michael Mitcham said the delay is due to construction issues that came up.

“When we’re ready, the doors will open,” DuBois said. “We don’t really need to announce it because the word will spread very fast.”

It will be open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m., and it is projected to be open later on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Mitcham said.

There will be no formal kick-off event to promote the restaurant, which is being constructed where Gingerbread Man used to be, Mitcham said.

Even if people have been to Primanti Brothers, they should not have any preconceived notions, Mitcham said.

“If you’ve been to one Primanti Bros., you’ve been to one Primanti Bros.,” he said.

The atmospheres of Primanti Brothers restaurants vary location to location, he added.

However, one thing is similar about all Primanti Brothers restaurants.

They are fun, casual and a great place to watch the game, Prezioso said.

“We love the community,” she said. “It just seems like a great fit.”

Because Primanti Brothers originated in Pittsburgh, the restaurant was always centered around Pittsburgh sports teams. However, now that the restaurant is opening in a different part of Pennsylvania, it will be catering to Philadelphia and New York teams, as well as everything Penn State, Mitcham said.

The owners of the concept wanted to see if they could expand the chain to other areas besides Pittsburgh because the restaurant has such a large fan base, DuBois said. It is currently going through a big growth period as well, he said.

“We’ve had our eye on a location there for a while,” Mitcham said. “The perfect opportunity appeared out of nowhere with that location. We thought it was a great time to make a move into the State College market.”

The restaurant is known for its “Almost Famous” sandwich, Mitcham said. Even though Primanti Brothers was built on its sandwich, the restaurant offers salads, burgers and pizza as well, he said.

The sandwich has been around for over 80 years and is one of a kind, Prezioso said.

“We serve sandwiches that are unique,” Prezioso said. “People like it.”

DuBois described Primanti Brothers as a combination of a city-style restaurant and an urban restaurant with a college theme. The restaurant will have tons of televisions and a big bar, he said.

“It’s a great place to get a great sandwich, have a cold beer and watch the game,” DuBois said.

All the food is made fresh in the restaurant every day, he said.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is nostalgic and almost a step back in time, Mitcham said. There is exposed brick, dark wood and caricatures of local sporting figures, political figures and people from the neighborhood.

Primanti Brothers will integrate itself with the community in the same way at Penn State, he said.

Currently, the restaurant is accepting applications on its official website and will be hiring throughout the month, DuBois said.

The business is looking for great people and a great staff to hire, Prezioso said.