Park the Car: Why the Marriott at Penn Square Works for an F&M Weekend
The Alumni Game is coming up fast, which means it's time to start wondering Where are we staying?
If being closest to campus is your priority, there are other choices. But if you like the idea of parking the car and walking to coffee, markets, restaurants, drinks and plenty of downtown Lancaster, the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square is hard to beat.
Most Dips lax games start at noon or later, which leaves time to grab coffee or wander through Central Market before heading to the tailgate.
We just covered Lancaster City Restaurant Week, so this isn’t another restaurant roundup. Think of it as our “what can I do if I stay downtown?” guide.
One Quick Tip Before You Book
Dips Local Pro Tip: Check the Lancaster County Convention Center calendar before booking, especially during spring lacrosse season.
The Marriott and Convention Center share the same complex, and when a large convention is in town, hotel rates can skyrocket. Check the calendar, book early when necessary, and move on to more important decisions — like dinner and drinks.
Before the Tailgate: Coffee
Passenger Flagship Cafe is practically around the corner and is our pick for the serious coffee person. Prince Street Cafe is a few blocks away if coffee needs to come with breakfast, and New Holland Coffee Co. on East King is another easy coffee-and-food option.
Or grab coffee in the Marriott lobby. There is a tailgate to get to.
Take a Lap Around Central Market
If it’s Saturday morning, this may be our favorite reason to stay downtown. Lancaster Central Market has operated since 1730 and is recognized as the oldest continuously operated public market in the country. More than 60 local standholders fill the 1889 Market House with produce, meats, cheeses, baked goods, prepared foods, coffee, flowers, sweets and Lancaster County staples.
From the Marriott, it’s essentially outside your door. Walk through. Grab breakfast. Pick up something for later. Then head back, gather the tailgate supplies and make your way to campus.
Central Market really deserves a Dips Local post of its own — favorite stands, what to bring home, what to eat there and a little market strategy. We’ll save that one for another day.
Don’t Miss DipCo
Beside Central Market is Lancaster Dispensing Company, better known to locals as DipCo.
It’s casual, unpretentious and decidedly local. Long before downtown Lancaster had this many choices, DipCo was already there. Some of us may even remember a few 21st birthday celebrations from the days when options were considerably more limited.
It remains a hidden gem if you want a true Lancaster hangout rather than the newest place in town.
A Quick Detour for History Buffs
The new Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy explores Stevens, Smith, abolition, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lancaster’s location near the Mason-Dixon Line made this area an important crossroads for Underground Railroad activity.
Inside the Convention Center complex, you can also see the William H. Montgomery House, an 1804 Federal-style home preserved within the modern facility.
If you’re not a history person, carry on. We have more food and drinks to discuss.
South County — and a Little Lancaster History
South County Brewing Co. is an easy option when the parent group keeps getting bigger.
The menu, with plenty of beer (their stouts and porters are exceptional), pizza and barbecue, may not be everyone’s first choice, but the space makes gathering a crowd much easier. Its location beside Steinman Park also connects it to a lot of Lancaster history.
Before South County, this was The Pressroom, the newspaper-themed restaurant that opened here in 1995. Before that, the building had been part of the Steinman family’s longtime Lancaster business presence. Steinman Park next door was part of the family’s investment in downtown as businesses were increasingly moving to the suburbs.
The Steinman name also has a significant connection to F&M. Over many decades, the Steinman family and Foundation have supported the College through the Steinman College Center, Carrie Steinman Nunan Arboretum, F&M Works, an endowed Classics professorship, the Franklin & Marshall Fund and, more recently, the Diplomat Leadership Program. Several members of the family have also served on F&M’s Board of Trustees.
So that little corner of West King Street connects downtown revitalization, local journalism, philanthropy and F&M.
The newspaper story can be told quickly: the Steinman family owned Lancaster’s newspapers for more than 150 years before gifting LNP to WITF in 2023; in January 2026, ownership moved to the new nonprofit Always Lancaster, created to pursue a sustainable future for local journalism.
Maybe we’re a little sentimental, but there is still something awfully nice about a quiet Sunday morning, a cup of coffee and the local paper spread across the table.
And Then There’s Tellus
At some point during your F&M years, you’ll probably hear about Tellus360. If your player is an upperclassman they will have a very specific idea of what Tellus is.
Parents should know there is another version.
Go in the afternoon or early evening, especially when the rooftop is open, for a drink, music and a view over downtown.
Eventually the line outside may suggest that the demographic is changing. At that point consider moving a few doors down to Annie Bailey’s or Bert & the Elephant.
Dinner Without Repeating Restaurant Week
We already covered Southern Market, Shot & Bottle, Proof and others, so we won’t repeat ourselves.
But there are plenty of other options. C’est La Vie gives you the lively French-bistro version of dinner. Josephine’s Downtown is the special-occasion choice. Vécu can take you from bakery and brunch to cocktails and dinner. The Imperial is worth remembering even if you’re not staying at the Holiday Inn.
You also don’t have to leave the hotel. Plough is a legitimate dinner option downstairs at the Marriott.
Later, Hi-Fi Izakaya offers Japanese-inspired small plates, cocktails, Japanese whisky and vinyl in a listening lounge.
And if elegance has completely left the itinerary by midnight, Blazin’ J’s is still there with chicken sandwiches (Scott thinks best in the county) and fries.
One More Marriott Perk: The View
We’ve mentioned The Exchange before, and it’s worth mentioning again — just not as the reason to stay at the Marriott.
The year-round rooftop bar gives you panoramic views over downtown Lancaster and works well for a before-dinner drink or nightcap.
The location is why we would choose the Marriott. The rooftop view is a bonus.
Sunday Morning: One More Meal?
Before everyone scatters, Shot & Bottle is a particularly good brunch option right on Penn Square.
If your player is willing to emerge before you head home, it’s an easy way to squeeze in one more meal just across Penn Square from the Marriott.
The Real Reason to Stay Here
The Marriott isn’t the closest hotel to Shadek Stadium. That’s not really the point.
What we like is that it lets Lancaster become part of the weekend instead of simply the place where the college happens to be located.
Walk for coffee. Wander through Central Market before the tailgate. Head to campus for lacrosse. Come back downtown, park the car and figure out the rest on foot.
Maybe it’s a rooftop cocktail. Maybe Tellus. Maybe Annie Bailey’s, DipCo or someplace you hadn’t planned to visit at all.
And Sunday morning, maybe you convince your player to meet you at Shot & Bottle before you head home.
You come to Lancaster for F&M and lacrosse. Staying downtown gives you a chance to enjoy Lancaster, too.
Park the car. See where the weekend takes you.
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