When you walk into Hofbrau in Bellefonte, it’s sort of like stepping back in time. The building’s structure, seating, and decor haven’t changed much in several decades.
More importantly, though, the food hasn’t changed much. According to owner Ruth Sampsel, Hofbrau never skimps when it comes to ingredients.
“It’s definitely the high quality of ingredients that we get in,” Sampsel says. “We get a lot of ingredients from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in Pittsburgh, the Italian market in Pittsburgh. All of our cheeses, our sauces, our olive oil, even our pepperoni, is from there. It’s all high-quality stuff.”
There are a plethora of pizza places in Bellefonte. In fact, most are just a stone’s throw from Talleyrand Park. While many have changed their recipes through the years, Hofbrau has remained consistent. If you remember what a slice tasted like back in the day, chances are that a bite today will send your taste buds back in time.
“We make our dough fresh in-house every day. We make our sauce fresh every day, and we grate our cheese down fresh and mix it ourselves—it’s a special mix of provolone and mozzarella,” Sampsel explains.
She points to the cheese as the key ingredient. If Hofbrau would run out of dough, she says, they could replicate it. Same goes for the sauce. But the cheese? That’s one thing that can’t be faked.
“If we run out of cheese, there is nothing in this area that I can substitute that is going to compare. Cheese, without a doubt … that fresh-grated cheese … it melts differently. If a pizza comes out and wouldn’t have our cheese on it, I can tell. It doesn’t look the same. It doesn’t taste the same,” Sampsel says.
As for toppings, pepperoni is far and away the number-one topping.
“Our pepperoni is cut to a certain thickness, and it’s fantastic,” the owner says.
Sampsel knows her stuff. She and her husband, Bryan, recently took ownership of Hofbrau from former owner Tim Glunt. Years ago, she had worked at both Hofbrau and The Gamble Mill before leaving to manage The Gamble Mill for three years; then she returned to Hofbrau 10 years ago. When Glunt announced he was stepping aside, Sampsel had a decision to make.
“Did I ever think I would own it? No,” Sampsel says with a smile. “I wanted a little more skin in the game, but I was thinking of a small partnership. It’s crazy.”
But Hofbrau is more than pizza. The wings, Sampsel says, are extremely popular. There are several different sauces to choose from, including mild, hot, butter rum BBQ, Texas ranch, Southwest peppercorn, Italian parmesan, and Tim’s Blue Cheese.
“We double fry them to make them extra crispy,” she says. “All of our wings have some spice, with the exception of the Italian parmesan. They’re all really great sauces, though.”
They get the pepper flakes from a loosely organized group of State College suppliers who are referred to as the “Pepper Kings.”
“They take the peppers, they smoke them, and they grind them down. There’s a little bit of smoke to them and we use those flakes in the sauce,” Sampsel says.
Hofbrau’s menu is small but mighty. In addition to pizza and wings, it features oven-baked grinders, sandwiches, cheesesteaks, strombolis, calzones, salads, and appetizers. Sampsel recently added French fries and wedgies (for “Wedgie Wednesday”) to the menu.
“It’s better to do 25 things great than do 100 things mediocre,” Sampsel says matter-of-factly.
Everything, she says, is fresh and never frozen.
“It’s about everything being fresh and homemade daily,” Sampsel says.
Hofbrau’s sausage, chicken, and beef come from Lajo’s in Altoona.
“They’re family-owned and local. They’re just great. Everyone in Altoona knows Lajo’s,” Sampsel says.
Hofbrau has been in business since 1954. It started, Sampsel says, as a burger and steak joint. Bill McFadden owned Hofbrau before Glunt took over. McFadden now owns and operates Faccia Luna in State College.
“Bill is the person who switched it to pizza,” Sampsel explains. “It was his first pizza shop.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
As for drinks, Hofbrau features Otto’s beers and Barrel 21 liquor. In fact, Otto’s makes a special beer called “Ottobrau” that is exclusive to Hofbrau.
“Otto’s had never made a light beer and when they came here, they knew we sold a lot of light beer. So, they made us a special beer, and it’s definitely our number-one-selling beer,” Sampsel says.
Hofbrau is located at 106 Bishop St., in the heart of downtown Bellefonte. It’s open Monday through Thursday 4 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 4 to 8 p.m.
So, if you’re in town for a visit and want a reminder of what great pizza tastes like, stop at Hofbrau.
“I can’t believe how many people come back and say, ‘I can’t get pizza like Hofbrau,’” Sampsel says. “They say there’s nothing like it.” T&G
Chris Morelli is a resident of Pleasant Gap and the news editor of The Express in Lock Haven. He’s been eating Hofbrau pizza since he moved to Centre County in 2006. This story appears in the May 2022 issue of Town&Gown.
