‘Accidental’ Centre County cafe owners serve up Eastern European comfort foods
International flavors abound in Centre County and, if it’s Eastern European comfort foods you’re after, there’s now a spot on the Happy Valley map for satiating your cravings: Café Luna, in Pleasant Gap.
According to co-owner Marina Shindy, opening a restaurant in Pleasant Gap wasn’t always their plan, but one thing led to another for her and husband and co-owner Ben Shindy, and now the café, which opened last year, has established a growing and dedicated fanbase.
“It was accidental,” Marina said. “We had this building. My husband remodeled (it) and we decided to offer something like coffee and some snacks, but we started with one thing and then it went a different way.”
The couple, originally from Kazakhstan, has lived in Centre County for 26 years. While Marina explained that they previously owned a store and bar in their home country, Café Luna is “totally different,” making the endeavor “totally new.”
“We didn’t know if it was going to be successful. We just opened it and tried. We wanted to have different food, traditional food. We have Georgian, Armenian and Kazakh (food),” she said.
Café Luna’s current menu offers small plates with options like baked beef cheburek, which consists of a homemade dough filled with minced meat — ground in-house — and onion and baked; khachapuri, which is a Georgian cheese-filled bread; homemade soups; and desserts. However, Marina pointed to the soups as one of the café’s fast crowd favorites.
“We started with just broccoli cheddar, but you can buy that everywhere,” she said. “Then, my son, Gary, said, ‘No, we need our soups.’”
Gary suggested borscht, and despite Marina’s reservations, it’s taken off.
“I said, ‘Who’s going to buy the borscht? No one knows about borscht.’ He said, ‘You’ll see.’ I made the borscht. I saw how people like it,” Marina said.
Now, the soup menu has expanded beyond borscht to include other regional favorites, and all are made from scratch, right down to the broth.
Marina added, “Every day, we have pelmeni soup” — a dumpling soup with Russian roots — “and others, like (kharcho). People love it. I didn’t know they would, because it’s totally new for Americans. It’s Georgian and has beef, rice and spices. There’s also rassolnik; it’s a barley, beef, potato soup, with pickles and carrots.”
Looking to the future, the Shindys would like to grow their menu further (with, as one example, the upcoming addition of an international, lighter take on a milkshake), as well as further utilize their party and event space, which can host groups of up to 40 guests.
They’re also hoping to attract more local customers, and customers who are willing to make the trip from State College to Pleasant Gap. Thus far, Marina noted that their customer base is made up of those who’ve either found the café on their own or heard about it through word of mouth.
“My son said he didn’t want to advertise anywhere,” she said. “He said word of mouth is the best advertising there is. People come. They try it. They like it. They told other people.”
Even just a quick look at the Café Luna reviews on Facebook show the enthusiasm of the restaurant’s customers, with many mentioning the Shindy family’s passion for their food and customers. Again and again, customers praise the soup options and desserts on the menu, which include baklava and a honey walnut caramel cake.
Café Luna is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant is located at 214 N. Main St. in Pleasant Gap.
Holly Riddle is a freelance food, travel and lifestyle writer. She can be reached at holly.ridd@gmail.com.
