Bonfatto’s will celebrate 100 years of serving up its famous Bonanza subs next year, but it will do so at a new location. In February, the restaurant will move back to downtown Bellefonte, close to where it all started back in 1919.
“We wanted to downsize a little bit and make my life a little simpler,” said owner David Letterman.
Bonfatto’s Italian Market and Corner Café’s new location will be in the renovated building at 401 W. High St., diagonally across from Talleyrand Park.
“We wanted to do something a little different,’ said Letterman. ‘I’ve always wanted to do an Italian market café-style place. We just wanted to bring the feel of more customer interaction with a family-style atmosphere.
“It is exciting to get back downtown, back where we started. Get back to the vibe and the atmosphere of what downtown is all about.”
Letterman said the location will be smaller and have fewer seating options, but the views of the park and the train rolling by three times a week will be great.
“We are actually just a couple doors down from where my grandparents had a house and where my mom grew up, so it is kind of neat to get back down there. It means a throwback to time. If we have customers who grew up with Bonfatto’s, pre-1978, it is going to kind of have that feel, which is what I am really looking forward to,’ said Letterman.
‘It is a good way to bring our business back to where it all started. Next year will be our hundredth anniversary, so it’s all kind of coming full circle.’
The first Bonfatto’s opened at 214 High St. in 1919, next door to where Dam Donuts now is located. Then, in 1932, it moved across the street. Letterman said that in 1978 that building was destroyed by fire and Bonfatto’s moved to the current Governors Pub location from 1978 to 2004. The current spot on Zion Road opened in 2000 and will remain open until January.
With the move will come some other changes. The Zion Road location’s liquor license has been sold, and Letterman encourages customers to ‘BYOB,’ adding that it a less expensive way for customers to enjoy a dinner out. When the new location opens, it will remain BYOB.
Letterman is very excited for the possibilities of the café and market, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We are going to do the old-fashioned-style espresso with hand-pull lever machines for espresso and cappuccino,” said Letterman.
The Bonanza subs aren’t going anywhere, but along with those, Bonfatto’s will serve fruit and natural energy drinks, smoothies, handheld breakfast items, soups, other sandwiches and pasta dishes. Letterman said the new cafe also will have some “grab-and-go” types of food for people to take home and heat it up.
The market will include a deli with Italian-style meats and cheeses and some other prepared items. The store also will have a retail area offering imported Italian products and local goods, such as Bonfatto’s sauces. Letterman said they will serve Hershey’s ice cream, too.
The renovations to the parking lot across from the building and in front of CVS, along with the street parking, should provide plenty of spaces for customers, according to Letterman.
