Between late August and mid-October, four food businesses opened or got ready to open in downtown State College. All four moved into spaces with a history. Baby's Diner took over the 1947 diner car on Garner Street. Indian Latin Kitchen opened in the former Kokoro on Calder Way. Blue & White Pub added a bar to an existing bottle shop on Beaver Avenue. Third Planet Coffee Brewers built a café in what used to be office space on Allen Street.
Over the same stretch, downtown lost Way Fruit Farm's Downtown Market & Cafe. It was the place on Calder Way where you could buy a Centre County farm's produce, dairy and baked goods a few blocks from your front door. The new places add breakfast, dinner, late hours and specialty coffee. None of them replaces the market.
The Diner Car Gets Its Name Back
The space at 131 S. Garner St. has meant one thing to downtown for a long time. According to StateCollege.com, the classic 1947 Silk City diner was home to Baby's Burgers and Shakes for more than 30 years before that restaurant closed in 2020.
Baby's Diner soft-opened there on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Owner Hitham Hiyajneh is not connected to the owners of the old Baby's, but he picked the name and part of the menu on purpose. The burgers are back, along with Whimpy baskets, fries, hot dogs and hand-spun milkshakes. In May, after leasing the space, he told StateCollege.com that he used to visit the old Baby's for milkshakes and burgers before entering the restaurant business, and that State College needed something like it.
What's new is the range of the menu. Hiyajneh calls it "versatile," with breakfast, lunch and dinner and a "Mediterranean twist." The Baby's Diner website lists smash burgers next to baklava pancakes, shakshuka and a Dubai chocolate pistachio crêpe. Breakfast runs all day, and lunch starts at 11 a.m.
The hours matter more than anything on the plate. The site lists 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Hiyajneh has also said he hopes to stay open until 3 a.m. eventually. For now, Garner Street has a sit-down place that serves pancakes at 10 at night.
Three More Spaces With a Past
The other openings follow the same pattern: a new business moving into a space downtown already knew.
| Address | What was there | What's there now | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 404 E. Calder Way | Kokoro | Indian Latin Kitchen | Grand opening Aug. 26, 2026 |
| 222 W. Beaver Ave. | Blue & White Bottle Shop alone | Blue & White Pub, attached to the shop | Opened end of August 2026 |
| 300 S. Allen St. | Office space | Third Planet Coffee Brewers | Targeted mid-October 2026 |
Indian Latin Kitchen held its grand opening on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in the former Kokoro on Calder Way. StateCollege.com reported that the menu pairs Indian dishes with Latin comfort food, plus drinks and desserts. It's a sit-down dinner option one block from the alley where Way Fruit's market used to be.
Blue & White Pub grew out of a business that was already on Beaver Avenue. Owner Ben Lippincott added a pub to Blue & White Bottle Shop at 222 W. Beaver Ave. and opened it at the end of August. StateCollege.com described the plan as a polished neighborhood pub with scratch-made bar food and regional specialties. Early menus listed made-from-scratch chicken sandwiches, wings and burgers, with cheesesteaks and roast pork planned. The pub is an evening place. During the soft opening, the Centre Daily Times listed hours of 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. until 1 or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Those hours were posted on Sept. 8, so call ahead before planning a late weeknight around them.
Third Planet Coffee Brewers turns a former office space at 300 S. Allen St. into the kind of storefront that gets foot traffic. Owner Frank Yeager is a State College native who has worked in the local coffee business for nearly 15 years, according to StateCollege.com. Instead of roasting its own beans or signing with one supplier, the shop rotates light-roast, single-origin coffees from specialty roasters around the country. Local pastries and baked goods are also on the plan. In early September the shop was still under construction and aiming for a mid-October opening. The Third Planet website now lists hours of 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends, and invites customers to "swing on by the shop." No opening date has been announced, so check the site before you walk over.
Look at who's running these places. Hiyajneh had been a customer at the old Baby's. Yeager grew up here and has spent about 15 years in local coffee. Lippincott built his pub onto a shop that was already on its block. All three openings come from people with local ties.
The Space Without a Next Tenant
Way Fruit Farm's Downtown Market & Cafe at 252 E. Calder Way served a need none of the newcomers covers. It opened in August 2022 at the corner of Calder Way and McAllister Street, in the two-floor space last used by Little Food Court. StateCollege.com described what it sold: fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery items, dairy, snacks, craft sodas and, more recently, wine. The lower-level café served breakfast, lunch and dinner, including wraps, bowls, salads, soups and mac and cheese.
It closed on Aug. 22, 2026. In a social media post quoted by StateCollege.com, owners Jason and Megan Coopey explained: "Our lease is up & negotiations to secure a reasonable price have failed us. We are sorry to be leaving downtown as we have enjoyed the adventure!" The closing coverage from StateCollege.com and Onward State does not name a new tenant for the space.
Earlier in the summer, downtown lost a second familiar stop. Duck Donuts at 125 S. Fraser St. closed on Sunday, June 21, after eight years, StateCollege.com reported.
Neither closing story names what comes next at either address. Each of the fall openings, by contrast, arrived with its next business already in place.
Where the Farm Market Went
Way Fruit didn't close. It went back to the farm. The Coopeys still run their market and café at the family farm at 2355 Halfmoon Valley Road, a 200-year-old property in Halfmoon Township now in its sixth generation. "Our farm & store in Port Matilda are still going strong," they wrote, "so we hope to keep serving you there soon instead!"
So for downtown residents who stopped at Calder Way for produce, dairy or a bakery item, that shopping now means a drive out to Halfmoon Valley. The coffee, burgers, curries and pub food that arrived this fall are all within walking distance. The farm market is no longer downtown.
A Downtown Day, Re-Mapped for October
Here's how an ordinary weekday downtown looks with this fall's changes, using the hours each business has published:
- 7:30 a.m. Third Planet's posted weekday opening on Allen Street, once its doors are confirmed open.
- 8 a.m. Baby's Diner opens on Garner Street, with breakfast served all day.
- 11 a.m. Lunch starts at Baby's.
- 2:30 p.m. Third Planet's posted weekday closing time.
- 5 p.m. Blue & White Pub's soft-opening start time on Beaver Avenue, with Indian Latin Kitchen on Calder Way as another dinner choice.
- 11 p.m. Baby's posted closing time Monday through Saturday. On Sundays it closes at 10.
From morning coffee to an 11 p.m. diner meal, this fall's openings cover most of the day. The list has no stop for groceries. The closest replacement for what Way Fruit sold on Calder Way is its own farm store on Halfmoon Valley Road.
If you'd like to talk through what downtown's changing storefronts mean for your own plans, Annette Yorks Group would be glad to help. Let's make your next move.
