New downtown State College eatery looks to fill a void in the international dining scene

A new cafe in downtown State College’s previous Peace, Love and Little Donuts location fills a void in the Centre County international dining scene. Husband-and-wife duo Asam and Afsheen Mirza, upon visiting downtown State College, saw the potential and opportunity the vacant space offered, and immediately decided to open their own Pakistani cafe, starting renovations about a year ago, with plans to open in spring 2020.

While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their goal, Afsheen said the resulting slow opening process has allowed them to better refine their concept and engage with the community in unprecedented ways.

“Although we weren’t able to open in the way we had envisioned, with a soft opening followed by a grand opening, we were able to use that time to contribute and get fully involved in the community via free meals,” she said. “We also were not able to fully operate our three-part concept, so we just opened via delivery and carryout, which we were originally going to implement at a later time.”

Asam, whose background is in business, and Afsheen, whose background is in interior design, are both from Pakistan and well-versed in Pakistani food, having cooked and enjoyed the cuisine their entire lives.

So their passions for business, design and eating authentic Pakistani food — along with Afsheen’s love of matcha tea — turned Café Alina into what it is now. The cafe’s name comes from the couple’s daughter, Alina; “alina” can also be traced to meanings such as “beautiful,” “bright” and “noble,” definitions which are incorporated into the cafe’s aesthetic.

The cafe’s three-part concept includes the restaurant, international coffees and teas and outdoor hookah in the late evenings on weekends. So far, Afsheen said, customers — ranging from international Penn State students wanting home-cooked, Pakistani comfort food, to locals new to Pakistani cuisine — have thoroughly enjoyed the menu’s authentic flavors.

“As for food, some of our top-selling items are our chicken biryani, an aromatic complex rice and bone-in chicken dish; chicken charga, our version of fried chicken that is marinated, steamed and deep fried; and most recently our grilled chicken tikka, boneless pieces of chicken marinated and grilled and served with rice and a choice of sauces,” she said.

Other popular items include samosas, made in-house, and various versions of kabobs, such as chapli and shammi kabobs.

“Our food tastes home-cooked and a lot of love is put into each dish. Also, customers love that each dish has its own distinctive taste,” Afsheen said.

At this time, the Mirzas are focusing on further refining the three prongs of the cafe concept, while adjusting their menu and the customer experience.

“We want our customers to walk away feeling relaxed, happy and positive. The music, the smells, the vibe, the staff, the design and the food will give you a different experience than what is currently in State College and, most importantly, it will feel like they are being hosted as a guest in a home rather then in a restaurant,” Afsheen said. “We don’t want our customers to not only enjoy great food, but to feel good when they leave. We want them to feel like guests in our home and feel like family every time they walk through our doors.”

Café Alina is located at 421 E. Calder Way, State College. For a menu and more information, visit https://orders.cake.net/11222700.

This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 12:37 PM.