Owners of The All-America Rathskeller announced late Monday afternoon the legendary bar and its adjacent restaurant, Spats Café, will close because owners of the building decided not to renew their lease. 

Simply put, The Skeller is a pillar of downtown State College. Stroll by on any weekend night — and many weeknights — and you’ll see a line leading up the sidewalk from the entrance to College Avenue. On a football weekend Friday, it’ll probably stretch around the corner as students and alumni alike line up to share a case of Rocks.

After the news broke, Penn Staters took to Twitter to share their disappointment in the decision. And they’re not messing around.

First reactions were disappointed at best, and devastated at worst.

I don’t even particularly care for the Skeller, but it’s a sad day whenever a beloved generations-old institution is forced to close its doors in the interest of “development”.

— Mark P. (@map408psu) December 4, 2017

I can’t fathom this. State College without the Skeller is not State College.

— Cliff Dressler (@cliffdressler) December 4, 2017

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SKELLER IS CLOSING IN STATE COLLEGE? That's not cool at all.

— Meghin Moore (@meghin_) December 4, 2017

https://twitter.com/Coux9/status/937811251970834437

Of all the bad news of the last few weeks, this is near the top of the list. The Skeller is a dive for all time. This is not progress. #pennstate #psu #skeller https://t.co/Ox0LswvOL6

— robertschwartz (@robertschwartz) December 4, 2017

But then, someone had a revelation: Rather than just being upset about the Skeller closing, Penn Staters could try to keep it open.

Chuck and Neil Herlocher — yes, those Herlochers — bought the property in June. At that time, they told the Centre County Gazette, “Business there will continue as usual.”

@HerlocherFoods #SaveTheSkeller pic.twitter.com/kQmu03YRXY

— LBerklund (@Berklund4) December 4, 2017

And thus #SaveTheSkeller was born, and folks began advocating to give Herlocher Foods a piece of the collective Penn State mind.

Here is the contact info for the heathens who are closing down the skeller.. If Tennessee fans can stop their school from hiring a football coach, we can stop a local, lousy mustard company from shutting down a bar #savetheskeller https://t.co/HnjiimZ574

— John DeRosier (@JohnRDeRosier) December 4, 2017

Rah rah to grassroots campaigns! As we learned earlier this month, Twitter can be a powerful thing.

https://twitter.com/NamelessRanger/status/937806706423287808

The Rathskellar spanned generations and is a cornerstone landmark at Penn State. Boycott @HerlocherFoods #SaveTheSkeller

— PSU FACTS (@PSU_FACTS) December 4, 2017

Hard to imagine the Skeller, an iconic Downtown watering hole beloved by generations of Penn Staters & PA’s oldest continuously-operating tavern, won’t get a new lease on life under new ownership. But who knows?

— Chris Buchignani (@buchignani) December 4, 2017

The Skeller is the only good thing we have left in this world. NOT OK https://t.co/7W5iSqwWsp

— Dave Cole (@DaveColePhoto) December 4, 2017

You are… ruining State College. #SaveTheSkeller https://t.co/mtkNVFE0d1

— Chris Garguilo (@cwgarguilo) December 4, 2017

The people @HerlocherFoods are a disgrace. https://t.co/cU9hnea43Q

— Kevin Horne (@KevinHornePSU) December 4, 2017

“The way the Rathskeller has changed hands, the owner has always sold it to someone who would be a good caretaker. It wasn’t necessarily a short-term profit scheme,” owner Duke Gastiger said in 2015. “This is a family institution.”

And that family includes Penn Staters past and present.