New Centre County restaurants opened, announced plans in February. Here’s a look

Downtown State College and surrounding Centre County communities are seeing a wave of new restaurants and entertainment options in 2026. From French pastries to fried chicken to arcades, we’ve rounded up openings or announcements from February.

Here are stories you may have missed:

• Paris Bakery & Café, a French bakery based in Lewisburg, plans to open at 122 W. College Ave. in downtown State College as soon as late April or May, with Neapolitan-style pizzas from a wood-fired oven, a gift shop inside the building’s old bank vault and 15 to 20 new hires.

• Pita Cabana, open for nearly 16 years on East Calder Way, has rebranded as Fava Kitchen with an expanded Mediterranean menu that now includes steak, shrimp and build-your-own bowls. Owner Hitham Hiyajneh also launched 700 Degrees Pizza at 1669 N. Atherton St.

• Warren’s Kitchen opened Feb. 12 in Pleasant Gap at 113 E. College Ave., serving breakfast and lunch daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with coffee roasted at nearby Cafe Lemont.

• Firehouse Subs plans to open its first Centre County franchise at the Village Square shopping plaza on North Atherton Street by the end of 2026, hiring 20 to 25 employees.

• American Burrito, a Fort Montgomery, New York, restaurant, is targeting a Labor Day opening at 114 S. Allen St. — the former Kish Bank — with hours extending as late as 3 or 4 a.m. on weekends.

• Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken held its grand opening Feb. 5 at 480 E. College Ave. on the ground floor of the oLiv Hetzel high-rise, making it the building’s first commercial tenant.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full stories in the links were reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.