Arby’s set to open June 29 in Kelly Township, adding 40 jobs

Arby’s is set to turn a long-watched Route 15 project into a working restaurant, with a June 29 grand opening in Kelly Township and a hiring push that will bring 40 jobs to the Lewisburg area. The store at 190 International Drive, in the same building as Popeyes between Hampton Inn and Sheetz, gives commuters, Bucknell University students and travelers a new stop on one of Union County’s busiest commercial corridors.

Point Brands bought the site in April after nearly three years of development under the previous owner, ending a stretch of visible but slow progress that township residents had tracked through hearings and construction updates. Kelly Township zoning notices show a hearing as early as April 20, 2023 tied to the project, and township supervisors were still saying late last year that the Arby’s, Popeyes and Wawa buildout was moving ahead, even if slowly.

The restaurant plans to open at 10 a.m. June 29 and serve guests until 11 p.m. on opening day. The company expects a ribbon cutting with local elected officials and community leaders, along with a live radio DJ, raffles and prizes, turning the debut into a public marker for a site that has sat at the center of Route 15 retail expansion.

The labor piece is as significant as the menu. Point Brands has already held hiring events with free food, prizes and giveaways, and plans to train 30 to 40 employees at its Shamokin Dam location before the Lewisburg opening. General Manager Jehn Hively said the store is meant to offer workers a place to build a career, not just hold one role, while District Manager Chad Henry pointed to the strength of the community, Bucknell University and the area’s business mix as reasons the brand chose Lewisburg.

For Point Brands, the opening also expands a regional footprint that already includes stores in Shamokin Dam, Bloomsburg and Jersey Shore. The company says the Lewisburg Arby’s is its 40th location across Pennsylvania and New York, underscoring that the Kelly Township stop is part of a broader strategy to plant recognizable brands along high-traffic corridors. On a stretch where motorists have watched the site take shape for years, the project now shifts from construction to commerce.