Home Sweet Home

To a Revved Up Boalsburg

The best part of travel is reaching your destination. Arriving home after being gone for almost a year, I was surprised to see big changes in the town of Boalsburg, population 4,381, not counting the outliers who live beyond the Harris Township boundary. Boalsburg today is booming. Rothrock State Forest is on the map and Rothrock coffee provides the fuel.

Boal City Brewing opened in April on the property adjacent to the Boal Mansion and the Christopher Columbus Chapel. Brewmeister Mike Smith is hitting all the high notes with his crafted brews and the local populace has embraced the new addition with open glasses. The taproom building has some seating, but most folks prefer the outdoors, where tables with umbrellas and chairs circle around firepits inviting amiable conversation. Dogs are welcome, children are welcome—until 8:30—and there is nowhere else around where you can sit in greenspace and read the tombstones that line the perimeter of the Zion Lutheran Church cemetery.

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Dave Staab, former manager at Zeno’s in State College, is an integral part of the new operation. His faithful followers queue up in the tap room and choose a brew or a cocktail from the menu board. Local fly-fishing legend Joe Humphrey has been spotted here, sipping an old-fashioned. Beer rules but other options include wines on tap from Mazza Vineyards in the Lake Erie AVA. Pennsylvania spirits are showcased with distillers like Wigle in Pittsburgh, Boyd & Blair in Glenshaw, Barrel 21 in State College, and Big Springs spirits in Bellefonte on hand to create noteworthy craft cocktails. There is even a delicious locally produced root beer from Otto’s that is not too sweet to satisfy the younger crowd.

Food trucks provide menu variation with Chef Thomas Novosel’s Happy Valley Chef’s pizza oven often a Sunday offering. Tuesdays are especially busy at the Boal City Tap Room and Beer Garden, as the Boalsburg Farmers Market across the street closes at 6 and the parched shoppers stroll over for a beverage. Food and drink, the perfect combination.

Breakfast on Boal opened a year ago in Boalsburg and offers classic breakfast choices in a bright dining room with a staff that is tuned in to hospitality. Server Sharon Lanager brightens your day with a smile and quick delivery of a cup of locally roasted Rothrock coffee before your menu choice arrives. The full-service breakfast spot is a morning destination. Our Monte Cristo sandwiches were served with house-made strawberry rhubarb jam with blueberry lemon jam another option. Young and old cleaned their plates.

But the best part of being home was seeing friends and neighbors and meeting up in the shady glen under our tulip poplar. BJ across the street doesn’t have any strawberries at all this year—three frosts in May took them out—but I am still enjoying strawberry freezer jam that I made from her berries last year. Berries picked by a 96-year-old fingers taste sweetest. Thank you, BJ! It’s great to be home again.