A new bakery will bring French pastries, more to downtown State College
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- Paris Bakery & Café is expanding to 122 W. College Ave. in downtown State College.
- The bakery opened in Lewisburg in early 2024.
- Its owner expects the bakery could open as soon as late April.
A central Pennsylvania bakery is expanding to Centre County.
Paris Bakery & Café is opening a location in downtown State College that will feature a larger menu and bigger space than its original bakery in Lewisburg. The French bakery will set up shop at 122 W. College Ave. in the former home of BRGR, the now-defunct Pittsburgh burger chain.
Paris Bakery & Café is expected to offer a wide range of sweet and savory pastries, breads, lunch options, coffees and teas and more. Owner Mario Mabrouk says he expects the larger space will allow his business to expand its offerings and better serve customers.
“What we have right now at our Lewisburg location, we’re going to offer 10 times more in State College,” Mabrouk told the Centre Daily Times.
Paris Bakery & Café’s menu already includes a wide range of French pastries, including croissants, macarons and tortes, as well as custom cakes, sandwiches and quiches. The bakery also offers fresh-brewed coffee, teas and hot chocolate.
Mabrouk said his bakery crafts authentic pastries that offer traditional and unique flavors. The existing menu, for example, includes croque madame, spinach and ricotta quiches and pistachio croissants — the owner’s personal favorite.
More space in State College will allow Paris Bakery & Café to expand its menu by offering Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven. Mabrouk said he’s bringing over a chef from Italy to oversee the pizza-making process and ensure the bakery can offer an authentic experience unique to the area.
State College’s bakery will also have enough room to offer cakes for grab-and-go pickup, Mabrouk said. It will also offer a dedicated space for low-sugar and gluten-free pastries, such as macarons, which are traditionally made using almond flour.
“We have a lot more we’d like to offer, but we have space limitations in Lewisburg,” Mabrouk said. “Here, we have the space to redesign the bakery to our liking and provide a lot more for our customers.”
Guests who walk into the State College’s cafe can expect to find pink walls, neon signs and comfortable furniture that promote an elegant but energetic ambiance, Mabrouk said. His team is working with a design firm to craft custom-made counters and new furnishings that will spruce up the space.
Paris Bakery & Café will take advantage of the property’s longtime tenure as a bank and convert its vault into a gift shop, Mabrouk said. There, customers can purchase French goods and keepsakes, including coffee grounds, bags and drinkware.
Paris Bakery & Café could open as soon as late April or May if current timelines hold, Mabrouk said. The bakery is expected to hire between 15 and 20 employees.
Though its operating hours aren’t set in stone, Mabrouk expects it will closely follow the Lewisburg location. The bakery there is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Preparing for expansion
Mabrouk worked as an information technology manager for years before launching his bakery with the help of a close friend who serves as Paris Bakery & Café’s head chef. Both hail from the north-African country of Tunisia, which received heavy influence from the French when it was colonized in 19th and 20th centuries.
“I had no idea how to even make a croissant before we opened,” the owner joked.
Paris Bakery & Café launched in early 2024 with a soft opening that drew hundreds of people to downtown Lewisburg. Since then, the bakery has amassed a steady customer base that transformed Mabrouk’s self-proclaimed side hustle into a budding business.
Though Paris Bakery & Café in Lewisburg serves many students from the nearby Bucknell University, Marbouk said he’s excited to cater to a much larger student base in State College. He said he hopes to maintain the bakery’s commitment to strong customer service.
Mabrouk long viewed State College as a prime target for expansion after his Lewisburg bakery consistently attracted customers from Centre County. Those talks intensified over the past few months before he signed a lease for the prime downtown location through Continental Real Estate Management, Inc.
“I never expected our business to grow like this, but it’s a real adventure for me,” Mabrouk said. “We’re going with the flow as we work to open up here. It’s overwhelming, but it’s exciting at the same time.”
Those who are eager to get a taste at what Paris Bakery & Café will offer can visit its Lewisburg location at 335 Market St. The bakery is expected to post updates on its State College location through its Instagram, Facebook and TikTok pages.
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