Visiting State College and Centre County? Here’s what’s new with the restaurant scene
With Arts Fest and People’s Choice underway — and with another Penn State football season right around the corner — visitors to Centre County are sure to notice plenty of changes when it comes to food and drink options.
Since last July, nearly two dozen restaurants opened, about six closed, and a few made substantial changes.
It’s difficult for any one person to track all the tweaks and openings in Bellefonte, Centre Hall, Philipsburg and beyond — so we compiled a list of all the new options in one place. Here’s a closer look at what’s new, when it comes to food and drink, both inside and outside the State College area. (And, if we missed any, let us know by contacting [email protected].)
New places to eat, drink in State College area
8 Mile Pizza, 300 S. Pugh St. The iconic flavors of Detroit-style pizza — a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, chewy crust — are brought to Happy Valley inside this pizzeria, which also serves cheesesteaks, wings, salads, etc. The pizzas come in personal and regular sizes.
Brothers Bar & Grill, 134 S. Allen St. No, this has nothing to do with Brothers Pizza. This is a Midwestern sports bar chain that operates in several other Big Ten towns. The downtown State College location has a 35-seat bar and 232 seats at tables. It offers sandwiches, wraps, hamburgers, wings, salads and appetizers.
Campus Steaks, 119 S. Pugh St. This new business claims to make the best cheesesteaks (and chicken cheesesteaks) in the area, but we’ll let you be the judge. Their “large” cheesesteak is 24 inches. They also boast classic sides such as onion rings, fries and chips.
Centre Markets, 2901 E. College Ave. That’s right, the online farmers market now has a storefront at the Nittany Mall. More than 50 local farmers and producers are part of the market, where you can order anything from a pint of maple syrup from Rothrock Forest to melt-in-your-mouth red wine brownies made locally. (To ensure you get what you’re looking for, it’s best to place an order online and then pick up in-store.)
Coffee, Hemp & Tea, 313 W. Foster Ave. This eclectic shop specializes in high-quality beverages and an assortment of CBD treats. The owners’ Puerto Rican roots are evident in their Puerto Rico-sourced coffee beans, in addition to Saturday menu items that have included chicharrones, pinchos, tripletas, etc.
Delhi Junction, 128 Locust Lane. This restaurant serves Indian cuisine for most tastes — from vegetarian entrees to chicken to goat/lamb to seafood. It also offers a lunch buffet for those looking to try some of the many different foods.
Dulce Luca Cafe, 214 E. Calder Way. This dessert/coffee shop offers a wide variety of baked items, although they might be best known for their cookies and their “crookies,” a croissant/cookie hybrid. Tea and other beverages, such as agua fresca, are also available.
Dunkin’, 141 S. Garner St. If you could’ve sworn a Starbucks was here, your mind isn’t playing tricks on you. Starbucks closed its doors here in January 2023 — and reopened on the ground floor of Pugh Centre (150 E. Beaver Ave.) in May 2023 — and Dunkin’ then opened its doors at this site in December 2023. There are now a half-dozen Dunkin’ locations in the State College area.
Giuseppe’s Pizzeria by Brothers, 204 E. College Ave. Obviously, this restaurant specializes in pizza — by the pie and the slice — but it also offers strombolis, breadsticks and subs. Owner Joseph Pistone wanted to return to this location since his family’s business occupied the storefront some 47 years ago.
K2 Roots, 114 S. Garner St. This is more of a move than a completely new opening, but it’s still noteworthy. Former Penn State wrestler (and current Oklahoma State coach) David Taylor and his wife Kendra closed their 3-year-old juice bar on Fraser Street last month to move into their new location on South Garner Street, which will officially hold its grand opening this Saturday. Vitality Wellness Club, owned by Taylor and fellow wrestler Kyle Dake, is at the same address and sits just below K2 Roots.
Marzoni’s Brick Oven & Brewing Co., 1215 N. Atherton St. This Altoona-based brewpub offers Italian and American fare such as pasta, steak and seafood — but they might be best known for their brick-oven pizza. (Their house lagers and ales aren’t too bad either.)
Pizza Hut, 2141 S. Atherton St. Like K2 Roots, this is more of a move than a completely new opening — but it’s still worth noting. State College’s only Pizza Hut stood at its previous location (760 S. Atherton St.) for about 50 years, but it closed in the fall and reopened about a week later at Hills Plaza. The new, smaller location has only delivery and takeout.
Tasty K, 325 E. Calder Way. This Korean-fried chicken joint emphasizes a small menu that’s big on taste. You can either get a small, medium or large order — “Mini Tasty,” “Tasty” or “We Are Tasty” — that includes boneless chicken along with sauces and sides of rice or fries.
New places to eat, drink elsewhere in Centre County
Dunkin’, 479 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Centre Hall. The first Dunkin’ in Penns Valley opened in late September, at the site of the former First National Bank. This 1,600-square-foot restaurant has a drive-thru and is open daily until 8 p.m.
The Junction 144, 850 S. Eagle Valley Road, Wingate. This “upscale diner” serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also boasts a coffee bar, along with 44 seats inside and a picturesque porch/patio that can fit another 52 outside. A menu can be found online.
McDonald’s, 2647 Benner Pike, Bellefonte. You might not be overly eager to visit Centre County’s newest fast-food location, but odds are you’ll eventually want to work your way over to this part of town. Wawa will open its first county location in this area next year, and this corridor is poised to see a lot of future development.
Punjab Dhaba, 529 E. Sycamore Road, Snow Shoe. This is located within the Mountaintop Pit Stop, i.e. a gas station, but its early reviews have been pretty favorable. Offerings include — but are not limited to — goat and chicken curries, vegetarian options, biryani, paratha, etc.
Riddle’s Ice Cream Shop, 4576 Penns Valley Road, Spring Mills. This shop isn’t entirely new, as it was established in 2018 at a different Spring Mills area location. But it moved about 3 miles northeast in March to a bigger space that was once a pharmacy. It offers soft-serve ice cream, sundaes, shakes, floats, malts, lactose-free options, and more.
Sowers Market, 670 Tyrone Pike, Philipsburg. The former site of Conklin’s Corner Antique & Gift Barn, which closed in January, is Centre County’s newest grocer. Sowers Market owner Earl Rissler told the CDT in May that his ultimate goal is to have everything in his store be local and fresh. He also wants every container in his store to be see-through so people can see what they’re buying.
Streamside Family Restaurant and Pizzeria, 2782 Earlystown Road, Centre Hall. This is more of a move than welcoming a completely new business — but big changes have come to the restaurant, which relocated about 6 miles west of its previous location in Gregg Township. The family restaurant now boasts a grill and deep fryer, which it didn’t previously have, so it has added a number of items to the menu — such as burgers, build-your-own fries, additional specialty pizzas, and more. It’s still known for its subs, sandwiches and pizzas.
Sweet Suite, 119 Front St., Philipsburg. Two popular Moshannon Valley vendors, Mae’s Makin’s and Sissy’s Sassy Apples, combined forces earlier this year to open this shop in downtown Philipsburg. Sissy’s specializes in candy apples and different cheesecakes, while Mae’s boasts award-winning cookies and other baked goods. (Sweet Suite’s classic strawberry cheesecake is their best-seller.)
Menu changes worth noting
Bill Pickle’s Tap Room, 106 S. Allen St., State College. Since Penn State students left in May, Pickle’s has been hard at working making changes — both to the menu and to the interior. The floors have been refinished, the interior has been repainted, and the menu has completely changed. Gone are longtime staples like the peanut butter wings and the reuben sandwich and, in their place, is a menu devoted to BBQ. Instead of peanut butter wings, for instance, Pickle’s offers a half-dozen smoked chicken wings coated in a BBQ rub. Other menu additions include smoked meats (brisket, pulled pork, spareribs, chicken, hot links) and sandwiches that mainly include those smoked meats. Salads, sides, appetizers and desserts are also available. Most everything on the food menu is $15 and under.
Federal Taphouse, 130 S. Fraser St., State College. Expect to see a changing menu here, with some items having a bit more of a southern flair to them. John Clickner, who spent the previous 10 years as the executive chef at Gigi’s Southern Table, recently took over here. He’s already added a few new dishes such as jerk chicken with pineapple salsa, a tri-tip steak salad, lemon caper salmon, cajun shrimp & sausage pasta, Greek pizza, and more. Clickner estimated about 98% of everything in the kitchen is made from scratch, even the salad dressings, and he’s looking to get more creative with the menu as time goes on. “The first changes are always toughest because you’re not trying to rock the boat, you’re just trying to see what you can do better,” Clickner told the CDT. His dishes involving fried green tomatoes have always proved popular, and Federal Taphouse offered fried green tomato tacos earlier this summer — and Clickner said customers can likely expect more of those related dishes in the fall.
Gigi’s Southern Table, 2080 Cato Ave., State College. New chef, new menu, new prices. Scott Rutter, who grew up locally, recently moved back to the area and took up the post as Gigi’s executive chef less than two months ago. Some of his new menu items include deconstructed chicken and waffles, featuring frosted flake-crusted chicken and sage velouté gravy, and PBR beer can chicken with a beer barbecue glaze. A number of menu items, such as the burger, import the beef and/or pork from the Idaho-based Snake River Farms, a prestigious ranch that bills its family as the “pioneers of American Wagyu.” The downside? Although even Esquire waxed poetic on Snake River Farms’ quality, it certainly doesn’t come cheap. Gigi’s burger (with sweet potato fries) now costs $25. It used to be $18 with chips. Other diners caught off-guard by the changes have pointed out the cost of the $17 “Deviled Egg Flight,” which includes jumbo lump crab. Gigi’s general manager previously told the CDT the menu will be “ever-evolving.” The hours have also changed, as it’s now closed for lunch on the weekdays.
Restaurant closures around Centre County
Are U Hungry, 111 Sowers St., State College
BRGR, 122 W. College Ave., State College
Jax Bar and Kitchen, 127 E. Calder Way, State College
Outback Steakhouse, 1905 Waddle Road, State College
Rony’s Place, 276 W. College Ave., Pleasant Gap
South Philly Cheesesteaks, 2782 Earlystown Road, Centre Hall
