Recently opened downtown State College cafe specializes in cookies, coffee and community

It’s difficult to stroll through downtown State College and not run into one of Hitham Hiyajneh’s restaurants. The serial restaurateur owns Yallah Taco, Underground Burgers and Pita Cabana Grill, among others. His most recent endeavor? A cookie and coffee-focused café that opened this spring on East Calder Way: Dulce Luca.

Hiyajneh created the concept alongside his wife, Eman Ahmed, to offer an alternative to the “cookie-cutter approach” other cookie chains in the area might take. Additionally, they wanted to explore flavors inspired by their Middle Eastern backgrounds, as well as provide a “good cup of coffee,” which Hiyajneh admits not everyone can do.

“We’re not a big fan of Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts,” he said. “(Dunkin) is too weak. Starbucks is too burnt. We want something more in the middle.” Dulce Luca currently sources its coffee beans from The Cheese Shoppe , just steps away.

The overall result is a café that offers desserts, drinks and an environment that’s a far cry from what any chain in town offers.

“The whole idea is to create something for our community,” Hiyajneh said. “We have a large Middle Eastern community and international community. They want something different than the standard that’s out there.”

So far, Hiyajneh said local response to the café’s opening has been positive. He and Ahmed have not yet invested in advertising to any large degree, as they’ve been waiting until the Penn State fall semester begins, but they’ve still built up a group of customers who love the café’s rotating cookie selection, as well as the environment.

“It’s cute,” Hiyajneh said. “My wife designed it. It’s a relaxing place — not too loud, not too quiet. When you walk in, (there’s) the smell of the cookies, the coffee. ... It’s a place where people can meet, have fun. ... We have a bunch of games for kids and adults, who sit for hours playing chess or card games. It’s a place for people to meet.”

Dulce Luca’s cookie menu is the café’s highlight, with eight to 12 cookie varieties available each day, and new varieties appearing each week. Staples that Hiyajneh said customers will nearly always find include the classic chocolate chip and snickerdoodle topped with cream cheese, but other varieties that have made an appearance on the menu include strawberry rhubarb, red velvet and Nutella cookies.

However, the cookies are hardly the only sweet treats customers will find. Hiyajneh and Ahmed are testing some ice cream options, and have plans to add something called a “Rumble Crumble” in the fall.

“It’s almost like a crumble apple pie,” Hiyajneh said. “It’ll be apple pie for the filling — cherry, apple or strawberry rhubarb. Then, we put a crumble on top and then you put a vanilla pudding warm or cold topping, with marshmallow. It is really, really one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted.”

Similarly, the drink menu goes far beyond standard drip coffees and lattes to include cortados, Turkish coffee, Karak tea and Aqua Frescas, a summer-y drink made with fresh fruit, water and organic cane syrup.

Regardless of what one orders at Dulce Luca, though, Hiyajneh stressed an emphasis on high-quality, real ingredients, from the chocolate in the chocolate chip cookies to the fruit in the Aqua Frescas. It’s a commitment that he’s made across all his restaurants — a family of businesses that is expected to grow even further. Despite just opening Dulce Luca in the spring, Hiyajneh plans to open two more eateries in August.

The first is ShokuPan, sharing a name with Japanese milk bread, which Hiyajneh likens to a brioche. The eatery will offer essentially oversized breakfast sandwiches made from milk bread and stuffed with a variety of fillings like scrambled eggs, ham or bacon and cheese. ShokuPan will operate out of the same space as Yallah Taco, on East College Avenue, but facing East Calder Way. The second concept is RCG, which stands for “Rice, Chicken and Gyro” and will operate as a food cart in front of Pita Cabana, serving what Hiyajneh called New York City-style rice bowls.

Dulce Luca is located at 216 East Calder Way in State College and is open Monday 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

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Holly Riddle is a freelance food, travel and lifestyle writer. She can be reached at holly.ridd@gmail.com.