Water tests show bacteria: Read Centre County’s December restaurant inspections

At least two Centre County establishments were found out of compliance with health standards following routine safety inspections conducted throughout December.

One of the county’s failed inspections stemmed from a Bellefonte-area market, where a sanitarian found water samples that indicated the presence of bacteria. Additionally, a State College hot pot restaurant failed an inspection due to several code violations concerning cleanliness.

More than 50 other establishments passed inspections in December with few or no violations. They appear alphabetically toward the end of this story.

Information regarding county establishments and their violations appears below in an alphabetical list with a summary of the problems inspectors noted in their respective reports. More details are available upon request by visiting the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s online database.

Business owners who wish to clarify or comment on inspection results can contact Centre Daily Times reporter Matt DiSanto by emailing mdisanto@centredaily.com.

About food safety inspections

Under Pennsylvania law, eating and drinking establishments are inspected at least once per year. Some schools, including the State College Area School District, receive biannual inspections.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture may conduct additional inspections if complaints are received or if initial inspections are not up to code.

Most observed violations are minor in scope and are corrected during inspections, but some establishments may temporarily close if too many violations are found. Closures may occur as a result of other issues, including risks for foodborne illnesses or violations that take time to address, such as broken plumbing or pest infestations.

Most inspections in Centre County are conducted at the state level through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. More than 100 municipalities directly conduct their health inspections through certified officials who fall under their jurisdiction. State College, for example, is responsible for performing inspections in the borough and in Ferguson, Patton and College townships, a borough official said.

Once inspections are complete and reports are published, you can browse them online by visiting pafoodsafety.state.pa.us/web/inspection/publicinspectionsearch.aspx. You can look up establishments by name or filter results to specific cities, counties and ZIP codes.

Out-of-compliance inspections in December

Musser Farm Market, 793 Musser Lane in Bellefonte — A Dec. 5 routine inspection at this family farm store produced two violations concerning food safety knowledge and water quality.

According to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture sanitarian Brenda Tyler’s report, recent water rests at the market indicated “the presence of total coliform bacteria.” Though regulations stipulate four check samples must be collected within 24 hours of a positive sample, none were taken, the report claims.

Tyler ordered a firm to shock the market’s holding tank and reservoir before collecting check samples and analyzing them for any present bacteria.

A second violation included on Tyler’s report says the person in charge at the market during the time of inspection “did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety in this food facility, as evidenced by this non-compliant inspection.”

A follow-up inspection on Jan. 9 cleared the market’s potable water issue and returned it to compliance.

Gu Dong Hot Pot Delivery, 1212 N. Atherton St. in State College — A Dec. 29 routine inspection at this restaurant produced five violations, all of which concerned cleanliness.

According to Brian O’Donnell, the State College borough’s sanitarian, the hot pot restaurant stored duck blood — an unapproved food item — in its refrigerator. It was thrown out during the inspection.

Additionally, bags of flour and rice in the kitchen area were stored open with no coverings.

Pots and pans in the food prep area were seen displaying food residue and were not clean to sight or touch, O’Donnell wrote in his report. The restaurant also reused plastic tofu packaging — intended to be single-use products— for food storage purposes. All food stores in them, and the packages themselves, were thrown away during the inspection.

O’Donnell noted the hot pot restaurant displayed evidence of insect activity in its dishwashing area, but it does not have an active pest control program.

Gu Dong Hot Pot Delivery returned to compliance after a follow-up inspection conducted Jan. 12.

How to complain about conditions

If you see a problem at a retail food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint to catch officials’ attention.

To notify the commonwealth about questionable conditions anywhere food is served or sold to the public, call 1-866-366-3723 or fill out the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s food safety complaint form, available online at pda.pa.gov/FoodSafetyComplaint/. The form asks for consumer information, facility details and a full description of each complaint.

You can also contact the commonwealth’s Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services directly by calling 717-787-4315 or emailing RA-FoodSafety@pa.gov.

Locally, you can report concerns to State College officials by calling 814-234-7100 or emailing healthdept@statecollegepa.us.

These establishments passed inspections in December

• AM Legion - Jon A Dennis Post #437, 315 Presqueisle St. in Philipsburg
• American Legion Post #867, 435 Main St. in Pleasant Gap
• Auntie Anne’s Pretzels (BJC), 127 Bryce Jordan Center in University Park
• AVI @ Willowbank Building - Bellefonte - Market C, 420 Holmes St. in Bellefonte
• Bellefonte Elementary School, 100 W. Linn St. in Bellefonte
• Bellefonte Lanes, 2767 Benner Pike in Bellefonte
• Benner Elementary School, 490 Buffalo Run Road in Bellefonte
• Berkey Creamery, 119 Food Science Building in University Park
• Bryce Jordan Center, 127 Curtin Road in University Park
• Buffalo Valley Spice & Supply, 2042 Axemann Road in Bellefonte
• Cafe 210 West, 210 W. College Ave. in State College
• Cafe Lemont, 921 Pike St. Suite 103 in Lemont
• Canyon Pizza, 219 E. Beaver Ave. in State College
• Centre Hall Fire Company, 134 Witmer Ave. in Centre Hall
• Centre Hall Lions Club, 153 E. Church St. in Centre Hall
• Champs Downtown, 139 S. Allen St. in State College
• Domino’s Pizza, 422 N. Front St. in Philipsburg
• Dunkin, 1161 Philipsburg-Bigler Highway in Philipsburg
• Dutch Valley Bakery & BBQ, 4699 Penns Valley Road in Spring Mills
• Fuel On, 911 Walton St. in Philipsburg
• Giuseppe’s Pizzeria, 294 E. College Ave. in State College
• Hometown Market, 1323 Walton St. in Philipsburg
• Kamrai Thai & Sushi House, 901 Pike St. in Lemont
• Kokoro, 404 E. Calder Way in State College
• Lion’s Den, 118 S. Garner St. in State College
• Little Szechuan, 228 W. College Ave. in State College
• Lyken’s Market #4, 1245 Zion Road in Bellefonte
• Marion-Walker Elementary School, 100 School Drive in Hublersburg
• McDonald’s #40860, 2647 Benner Pike in Bellefonte
• National Vending @ PSU Katz, 651 Bigler Road in University Park
• Nittany Valley True Value, 1169 Nittany Valley Drive in Bellefonte
• Penang Asian Fusion, 1221 N. Atherton St. in State College
• Philipsburg Elks Lodge and Country Club, 1 Country Club Lane P.O. Box 307 in Philipsburg
• Pizza Hut, 952 N. Front St. in Philipsburg
• Qdoba Mexican Eats, 1900 N. Atherton St. in State College
• Sakura Restaurant, 1525 S. Atherton St. in State College
• Shaky Hands Coffee Shop, 106 W. Bishop St. in Bellefonte
• St. John Evangelist School, 116 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte
• Stop 1884, 2782 Earlystown Road in Centre Hall
• Subway, 503 N. Front St. in Philipsburg
• Sunset West Restaurant, 521 E. College Ave. in Pleasant Gap
• Tasty K, 325 E. Calder Way in State College
• The Hidden Hostess Mobile Catering, 2280 Commercial Blvd. in State College
• The Hofbrau, 106 E. Bishop St. in Bellefonte
• The Village at Penn State Cafe and Bistro, 260 Lions Hill Road in State College
• Tokyo Sushi and Hibachi, 428 E. Colleg Ave. in State College
• Troy’s Philadelphia-Style Hoagies, 2932 Benner Pike in Bellefonte
• Uni-Mart, 106 W. College Ave. in Pleasant Gap
• Waring Dining Commons, 222 Waring Dining Commons University Park
• Wings Over Happy Valley, 244 W. Hamilton Ave. in State College
• Yummy Cafe, 320 E. Calder Way in State College

Note: Occasionally, a listed address — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — is not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments for specific service locations.

This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 5:43 AM.

Matt DiSanto

Centre Daily Times

814-231-4616

Matt is a 2022 Penn State graduate. Before arriving at the Centre Daily Times, he served as Onward State’s managing editor and a general assignment reporter at StateCollege.com. Support my work with a digital subscription