[music playing] TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: Food, a basic necessity.

We all need nutrients to survive and thrive.

Whether your meals come from the field, the fridge, the treasured family recipe, or the takeout menu, something special happens when we come together to share a meal and a common bond.

Culinary Connections is where we celebrate the people and places that use food to connect with the world around them.

I'm Tamra Fatemi-Badi and welcome to Culinary Connections.

Welcome to Culinary Connections, and welcome to Lewisburg.

I'm Tamra Fatemi-Badi.

And I'm Kendy Alvarez, Mayor for the borough of Lewisburg.

Today, we're going to tell you about the amazing food scene in this little Central Pennsylvania town.

Kendy, what makes Lewisburg so special when it comes to food?

For where we're located, you'd be surprised the wide range of food choices we have here.

Some would even say it's an eclectic range of places for you to get something to eat.

One of my favorites-- the heart of our food scene.

It started right here at Elizabeth's.

Great.

Let's hear their story.

JOHN FURIA: My wife was trained as a baker, and she also worked in some-- a bunch of the really, really nice restaurants in the city.

And we started as a bakery, a small bakery literally two blocks away from where Elizabeth's was.

We wanted to see what the reception would be like.

And her baked goods took off.

MELISSA GELNETT: Back in the mid-'90s, Liz and John purchased the building.

It was, I believe, a hat shop at the time.

And then they turned it into a bistro.

He gave her a year.

He said, if it cannot make a profit in that first year they were open, it's done.

And she did.

100 hours, 120 hours a week.

Changing the menu.

Her mother worked here on the register.

Her little niece, when she was-- you know, would carry bread to tables when she was like, five.

It was a family.

JOHN FURIA: Put all our money and heart into this building and then progressively added on.

And so, that's where it all began.

Every few years, we would try to make it bigger and better.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: And for the next 30 years, the bistro's reputation for high quality and unique menus continued to grow.

Elizabeth's is now Lewisburg's home of eclectic new American cuisine.

MELISSA GELNETT: We love our breads.

So our breads-- we have a biga.

It is an Italian bread starter.

Liz started that over 30 years ago.

So our bread is our staple.

Everything we make here is fresh, right?

Dressings, sauces, breads.

We want you to be able to taste that.

This was made.

This was not bought in a store.

They made that themselves.

Our purpose is to make you happy, to make you love food and to make you want to come here.

We bring what you could have in the city where you could have someplace else for $100.

We bring it here and we make it accessible to people that might never have something that could be this extravagant or this different.

It's someplace that, if you don't eat here while you're in Lewisburg or have lived in Lewisburg at least once in your life, I think it's an experience you're going to miss.

[upbeat music] TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: The driving force behind creating this experience was Elizabeth Furia.

Since her passing in the spring of 2025, the crew has worked to keep her spirit alive.

MELISSA GELNETT: She was my boss, and I knew that.

But she was more.

I'm here now, and she's not.

And it's-- it's weird.

But I realize that she's still here, and I'm going to keep it, making sure that people she's still here.

JOHN FURIA: My job is-- excuse me, is to continue Liz's legacy because that's what she would want.

We talked about that the day before she passed.

We talked about what we should do.

And I said, I want to keep this going in your honor.

And the team wanted to do just that.

And so, the restaurant-- as long as I can, this restaurant will always have Elizabeth's name.

And we'll try to always have some of the original staff working in the restaurant, and it's going to continue to honor my wife's legacy.

So it's Liz's legacy.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: The legacy Liz left behind goes beyond creative dishes and wonderful meals.

[soothing music] JOHN FURIA: Everybody picks their charities, right?

And so one of the things that we both felt very strongly about were women entrepreneurs, women in the hospitality business.

Because Liz had it tough.

I mean, she was in Philadelphia back in the '90s, when it wasn't-- when there weren't too many women in the kitchen.

And so, it was really hard.

And so, one of the things that was very important to me was to fund a scholarship in my wife's name [?

that ?]

[?

prioritize ?]

young women who want to start a career in the hospitality and food industry.

I'm very proud.

I think Liz would be real happy with that.

MELISSA GELNETT: Liz was really big on helping people and the community and just being a presence that was quiet, yet not.

She didn't need publicity.

She let the food, she let the people that work here speak for everything.

She was an inspiration.

She really was.

JOHN FURIA: In fact, I'm real proud.

And I know Liz took a lot of pride in the fact that she trained a lot of people who left this restaurant and started their own restaurants.

Our first sous chef opened up a restaurant in Harrisburg.

Our second sous chef opened up a very popular restaurant that was in existence for almost 14 years just a mile or so away.

Two of our other chefs went over and worked at Bucknell and helped redo Bucknell's menu.

We've had one that started his own soup company.

And the list goes on.

The list goes on.

And Liz was-- took a lot of pride in that.

So, Kendy, if you're not in the mood for fine dining, what are the other options here in Lewisburg?

Grabbing a quick bite is real easy.

You've got the Bull Run, Town Tavern, and Graham's Eatery.

One of my favorites, though, is right here, Amami.

They've got an amazing Italian sandwiches and, better yet, great coffee.

More on that later.

Right now, I'm going to go get a sandwich.

[piano music] KENDY ALVAREZ: We are a suburb with no metropolis, so we have a lot of the resources that people think about in suburban communities.

But we're an hour from Harrisburg, an hour from State College.

We've got a thriving Main Street, lots of amazing small businesses, mom-and-pop shops.

And so, it's the kind of place that you think about when you imagine a small but thriving rural community.

What's really interesting about the owners of the businesses throughout our community is that they come from all over.

We've got a Greek pizza place, authentic Thai food.

We've got a Parisian bakery.

There's so much here that adds to the richness and vibrancy of this community, and I think that having these restaurants is just the tip of what you can experience in and around this community for the level of vibrancy and range of diversity that's here.

Hi, I am Alee.

I am the owner of Alee's Cafe in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

[guitar music] I was in Lebanon, in Beirut.

I was born there.

I grew up there.

I had my business there, all my family there.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: Alee ran his family's rug and furniture business through the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s.

The business took him around the globe, but it was family that brought him to Lewisburg.

ALEE KABALAN: I came here because my daughter was here.

She moved to Lewisburg to work for Bucknell.

Two years after that, she was expecting her first baby.

She had her first baby, and he was a lovely boy.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: The arrival of his grandson convinced Alee that it was time to move to the US.

ALEE KABALAN: And the main reason for me, when I saw the face of that lovely girl is my first grandchild-- I think his face was more [?

effective ?]

on my life journey, this life journey and your new life journey.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: When Alee moved to the US, he decided to take a different career path.

I can say that I have three main hobbies-- listening to music.

I like music, I don't know why.

Second, go for hiking.

And the third, cooking.

But the third one, cooking, was a secret hobby for me.

So we started with the farmer's market.

I said, OK, let's start to make small things.

One of the famous things was the hummus.

You know hummus?

Their feedback and their reaction about the food was great.

They like what I'm doing.

We are serving fresh things.

We are not paying any pre-made stuff, from the beginning.

I had good background in business, so I had to do something bigger or more clear.

You know the farmer's market is one day per week.

So I saw a place with a sign for rent, turn key.

And it was Corona, June 2020.

So I don't know if it was the right decision or the bad decision at that time.

I'm very happy that I did the decision.

I don't know-- it was Frank Sinatra, who said, "I did it my way".

I have to say, I don't remember.

Frank-- I think Frank Sinatra-- Yes, yeah.

I did it my way.

Crazy way.

I did the crazy way.

This is my way.

How I make the things done, crazy way.

And it happened, yeah.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: Before moving to the US, Alee's work took him all over the globe.

ALEE KABALAN: I found out later that traveling gave me the chance to taste many, many kitchens in the world.

French kitchen, German kitchen, Spanish.

I had business with those countries, so I used to fly there every year.

So this had gave me the chance to taste the foods.

And it's my hobby at the same time, so it helps me to do something, understand the food business in another way.

My menu-- when I start the business, my idea was to bring something new in the area and, at the same time, carry, like, a message, a kind of culture exchange.

So not just selling food.

So when I start the menu, I focus on something that's typical Lebanese, is not available here.

And at the same time, it's to reflect the culture there.

[soothing guitar] I first found this place because, when I moved to Lewisburg in 2019, I was looking for grape leaves because dolmas are a thing that my family makes.

And this place was a godsend because it has a fully-stocked kind of Mediterranean kitchen, in addition to being a delicious caterer and eatery.

It's dear to my heart because it made me feel at home for the first time here.

ALEE KABALAN: I fell in love with my business more and more when I hear the people-- "Oh, we enjoy to be here.

It's a new experience.

We like it."

This makes me very, very, very happy.

We have this sentence, we say-- [speaks in arabic] I mean, I say it in Arabic.

It means, "God save your smile."

So I found-- the-- the better way to say it in English is, you have-- I mean, keep smiling.

[upbeat music] KENDY ALVAREZ: Did you know that Lewisburg is the coffee capital of the Commonwealth?

Downtown Lewisburg has at least 10 coffee shops, including World's End Coffee, which is where we are right now.

It was 2025, happened to notice that it was National Coffee day.

And we've got a coffee culture that exists here.

And you can imagine that's the case because we're a college town.

So I said, well, I'm going to issue a proclamation.

We have a proclamation recognizing National Coffee day and declaring Lewisburg as the coffee capital for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

We've got a coffee club at Bucknell University and a professor that does research on coffee.

So it all kind of tied in together.

Well, what's really cool is, our coffee shops aren't just coffee shops.

We've got a bagel place that has a full coffee menu.

We've got the Paris Bakery that's got coffee.

And then we have Tastecraft that is coffee, but they also have macarons.

And so, we've got some really interesting nuances.

Trevina and their espresso Martinis that, like-- I count that as a coffee shop, just so you know.

CycleUp Cafe!

It's a bike shop with a coffee place in the back.

So our range is that we have a little bit of something for everyone.

And so, we have a coffee culture that is always just a little bit more.

So our final stop is the Brasserie Louis here on the East End of town.

Yes, it has a really eclectic menu.

And sometimes, it even has rabbit.

Oh, I've never had rabbit.

Let's go try!

Yeah!

[upbeat music] BARISTA: We love to be different, and we love creating new things all the time.

We are a scratch kitchen.

The chef makes his own bacon, hand-rolls his own pasta, cooks down, simmers his own sources.

It's the way we do things.

CHEF: My specialty?

I don't really have one.

Since we change the menu every three months, there's no time to have a specialty.

There's staples-- steak frites, French onion soup, yada, yada, yada.

But everything else changes every three months.

BARISTA: We try to source as much as we can locally, so we go with the seasons and what's available during that season, including down to fresh berries over the summer.

So you make blueberry vinaigrette for a salad, or you make more desserts with whatever fruits are fresh and off the vine or out of the tree at the moment.

It's a way to stay local and source locally, and it helps the community and helps us.

[funky music] There is a clientele that loves the uniqueness of the menu-- the rabbit, the wild boar, duck.

We have done octopus in the past.

I do rabbit because nobody else is willing to do rabbit.

People just think of it as a rodent.

No, it's not.

It's really, really good.

You go to any other restaurant within 50 miles, nobody's going to have rabbit on the menu.

Nobody's going to have wild boar on the menu.

Nobody's going to be willing to take that step.

I am not normal.

So I took that step.

And it turns out, everybody likes it.

BARISTA: He's also amazing at his house-made pastas.

CHEF: We focused on fresh pasta because fresh pasta is-- not everybody does it.

I do it.

That's something that has people coming back.

I think one of his most signature dishes would have to be his wild boar amatriciana.

It is just beautiful, hand-rolled tagliatelle noodles and slow-roasted wild boar turned into a beautiful, spicy red sauce and-- just phenomenal.

CHEF: I never work because this is just fun for me.

When I'm at home and I'm bored, I create menus, I cook food.

That is what I do for fun.

And I also do it, and we get paid for it here.

So that's kind of nice.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: The menu at Brasserie Louis is always fresh and new.

The building, however, is one of the more historic buildings in Lewisburg.

MANAGER: This was built in the 1830s.

And it was a private residence up until the 1930s, when it became a boarding house run by two sisters.

After that, it was the Lewisburg Inn, which was a beloved and very nice restaurant for over 40 years.

And then there was a short stint where it was the Highlands Pub created by two Bucknell graduates.

And they created the bar that we're in, as well as the stage for live music, which we have continued to use regularly.

And in 2007, it became Brasserie Louis.

My parents bought Brasserie Louis about 20 years ago.

My entire family has worked here a lot over the years, so I practically grew up here.

We chose the name Brasserie Louis because a brasserie is essentially a tavern, a gathering place for locals, and Louis is our French-inspired nod to Lewisburg.

BARISTA: We create some of our own drinks, so we will mess around with some herbs and some liquors and see what blends together the best.

Right now, one of our top sellers is a blackberry basil smash.

So we muddle some basil, smash some blackberries, and either add vodka or bourbon.

And it is just a beautiful, refreshing drink.

I make all the infusions that we do.

We infuse vodka, bourbon with pears, thyme and dill and basil, black pepper.

And then, I make all the syrups for behind the bar.

So we make a rose syrup.

We make a hibiscus, lemongrass, basil tea that we turn into a drink then.

I'm very invested in that, and we have done a lot of creating over the last few years with our cocktails.

TAMRA FATEMI-BADI: After spending a few years working together to grow the business, [?

chris ?]

and [?

john ?]

decided to start seeing each other outside of work.

So I started here in September of 2016.

[?

john ?]

started in January of 2017.

We worked together for two years and started dating after two years.

Together, they've created a wonderful experience for our clientele.

And in fact, they love what they do so much that they got married right here, under this very roof.

Yeah, right there.

This is where we met.

This is where it all started.

Why not have it where it all started?

[relaxing music] BARISTA: I just love my customers.

They're great.

You get to meet new people from all over the place across the world, especially now that I'm here in Lewisburg.

You meet a lot of parents from Bucknell, and they're from every country you could imagine.

And it's just really neat because you get to talk to the kids, you get to talk to the parents.

You learn their culture.

They compared dishes because [?

john's ?]

known for his global tapas, and he does all these fusions and they love it.

They think it's great.

And you meet a lot of nice people.

I love the food scene here in Lewisburg.

It's great.

You have from mom-and-pop to fine dining, and then you have many different cultures of food and it is just phenomenal.

Thanks for watching.