BELLEFONTE — Bellefonte couple Bryan and Ruth Sampsel will be celebrating their 18th Valentine’s Day together as a married couple. Bryan is the sheriff of Centre County and Ruth is the owner and manager of Hofbrau, in Bellefonte.
Although the pair had mutual friends growing up, they didn’t officially meet until Bryan came to Hofbrau while he was on duty and Ruth was working.
“I just briefly met her that night and then passed around a couple of days later and then she didn’t answer me,” Bryan said, sharing more about trying to get Ruth to go on a date with him.
“I had to ask people, like, ‘Is it okay? Tell me what’s up with this,’” Ruth said. However, she ultimately decided to accept Bryan’s date request.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, you know what, I’ll go on a date with you,’” she shared.
The Sampsels had their first date at Otto’s Pub and Brewery, which would carry significance into future business endeavors. After, the pair went to see the film “Mission Impossible.”
The Sampsel’s engagement came around nine months after their first date at the place where their relationship started, Otto’s.
“I dropped off a bottle of champagne earlier, I got down on one knee and proposed,” Bryan shared.
Bryan and Ruth now have two children. After their second was born, Ruth was requested to return to Hofbrau to manage the restaurant.
Shortly after returning, the then-owner sold his liquor license.
Ruth had pitched the idea to the owner of the Hofbrau and Otto’s that the Hofbrau become a satellite brewery.
“I had heard about it, researched it and asked if they’d be interested in coming down and licensing us,” Ruth explained. “And they were. They took a chance on us and a chance on me, and they came down and we partnered with them.”
When the former Hofbrau owner started looking into retiring, the Sampsels were presented with the opportunity to officially buy the restaurant that they had met at.
Since buying Hofbrau, the Sampsels have not been able to celebrate Valentine’s Day on its usual calendar date due to how busy the restaurant gets on the holiday.
“He told me that he was taking me out for Valentine’s Day a week early,” Ruth said. So the couple started their own tradition of going out the week before the holiday on Feb.7 — the day they got engaged.
However, this year, the Sampsels shared that they have a babysitter and will celebrate their love together on Friday, Feb. 14.
