Centre County restaurant expands brew options while keeping family-friendly atmosphere

Walker Township’s Old Farmhouse Eatery is a family affair. Opening its doors in late 2018 and recently adding a brewery, the restaurant is helmed by David Faussette and his parents, David and Michelle Faussette. The younger David has a long history of working in the restaurant business, with stints served at many staple restaurants around Centre County.

“I cooked for probably about 11 years and then I started getting into entrepreneurial roles. I moved into more of a business (side),” he said.

The opportunity to join his parents on their restaurant venture came about while the elder David was looking for a retirement project.

“I had originally talked to him about opening a spa,” Faussette said. However, that venture proved too costly. The parents saw the previous Michael’s Tavern location up for sale, along with a liquor license, and jumped on the opportunity. “They were going to buy it with or without me. They wanted something to call their own and to run their own business ...”

When Faussette came aboard the project alongside his parents, he suggested they not only open a restaurant, but a brewery as well, for multiple reasons.

“The license is a lot cheaper and easier to find. Anyone can get a brewing license as long as you follow the health code regulations. With the amount of money (they were) putting into it to have a liquor license, we were able to put in the extra money to put in the brewery,” he said. “The brewery scene is extremely large right now. It’s just excelling more and more every day. Eventually it will plateau, probably in the next five to 10 years, but beer is never going to go out of style.”

Now, Michelle runs the front-of-house operations, the elder David focuses on the brewery side of the restaurant while his son oversees the kitchen as well as the business side of things. He says pretty much all their family members have worked at Old Farmhouse Eatery at one point or another, waiting tables, dishwashing or hosting.

The family effort that has gone into making Old Farmhouse Eatery a success plays into what the Faussettes wanted for the restaurant in the first place — a family-friendly atmosphere.

“We wanted it to be family-oriented as much as possible. We didn’t want to focus too much on the bar scene, because this was a bar before,” Faussette said. “We wanted it to be more of a brewpub, where people are going to come try our beers, have some good food at the same time.”

While the family-friendly vibe and affordable dining prices draw an older demographic, the restaurant’s live music on weekends and brews are starting to attract a younger crowd. The brews, Faussette says, are what really set the restaurant apart from others in the area. The restaurant is slowly building its collection of original brews, with 12 taps available, four reserved for collaborations with home brewers and eight for more standard-style brews.

“We try to stick to the farmhouse-style beers, like the saison is the original farmhouse-style beer. With the (restaurant’s) name, that’s kind of the style. ... We haven’t dug into the stouts and the nitros yet; we’re saving that for last. We want people to get used to just how we brew,” said Faussette, noting that the pretzel head porter, a chocolate porter, is one of the restaurant’s most popular offerings. In the coming weeks, the team plans to offer growlers of their brews, as well as bottled four-packs.

Of course, the restaurant’s food is not to be overlooked. Traditional, American fare includes sandwiches, wraps, salads and limited entrees. One of the most popular menu items is the 8-ounce burger, made with short rib and brisket. One of Faussette’s favorite items is the drunken chicken sandwich, topped with a house-made honey bourbon barbecue sauce, jalapeno coleslaw and garlic aioli. Sunday brunch is also offered.

Looking forward, the Faussettes aim to offer more events in the spring and summer, as well as open up their large outdoor space to a local farmers market and appear with their beers at festivals in the area. As they begin producing brews on a larger scale, diners might even spot them on other taps around town.