Lewisburg Bakery Brings Pastries, Pizza to Downtown State College This Spring

Mario Mabrouk, the Lewisburg entrepreneur behind The Paris Bakery, spent two years building one of downtown's most loyal pastry followings. This past weekend, he announced his next move: a second location at 122 West College Avenue in State College, set to open in late April.

The new outpost will be the brand's largest to date. Mabrouk's original shop opened in 2024 and drew both Bucknell students and year-round Lewisburg residents, demonstrating that the bakery's appeal could hold up across a college town's seasonal rhythms. The State College location aims to replicate that model at a larger scale, in a market anchored by Penn State's student population and denser foot traffic along College Avenue.

The building at 122 West College Avenue carries some history: it served as a Citizens Bank branch before operating as a burger restaurant. Mabrouk plans to put the surviving vault to use as a permanent gift and merchandise shop, a detail he flagged on social media alongside the broader announcement.

The menu at State College will go beyond the macarons, cakes, tarts, and croissants that defined the Lewisburg storefront. Mabrouk said he plans to add Neapolitan pizza to the lineup and is recruiting a chef from Italy to support the expanded production demands.

For Union County, the expansion offers a concrete example of what locally rooted growth can look like. The Paris Bakery started on a downtown Lewisburg block, built credibility with two distinct customer bases, and used that foundation to justify entry into a significantly larger market without abandoning its origin. If the late-April timeline holds, Mabrouk will have taken the business from its first storefront to a two-city operation in roughly two years.