New State College restaurant all about ‘egg, beef and bacon’ is coming to the former Baby’s diner

A renowned comfort food chef will soon open a restaurant in State College that hopes to repurpose a beloved downtown property.

Chef Gillian Clark and her partner, Robin Smith, plan to open an American diner with a French twist in the former home of Baby’s Burgers and Shakes at 131 S. Garner St. The restaurant, Oeuf Boeuf et Bacon, will feature references to diner culture while serving up something new for a modern audience.

“So, imagine French folks moved here and decided to open a diner, but they wanted to be emblematic of their culture. I’m not French, so it’s sort of a tongue-in-cheek thing,” said Clark, who said she has always loved diners. “I did not grow up in the 1950s, but we all have a touchstone to diner culture. There’s a real diner aesthetic that people can identify. But as we move forward, people are less connected to that. I wanted to do a diner that sort of had a wink and a nod to the origins of diner culture while doing something different.”

The restaurant’s name directly translates to “egg, beef and bacon,” so it should come as no surprise that Clark’s team will serve breakfast specials all day long. The menu will also feature crepes, beef bourguignon and French-pressed coffee, plus croissants and baguettes to replace bread for toast and sandwiches. A “Sacré Bleu Plate Special,” Clark said, will rotate daily to feature different comfort food dishes, many of which would have a French twist.

“You can say ‘egg, beef and bacon’ in English, and it doesn’t sound like much. But when you say it in French, it’s suddenly uplifted,” Clark said. “You can get food anywhere. I like to put mine in the context of an experience, and people are transported when they come in. We want to have a strong, immersive identity without being shy about it.”

Oeuf Boeuf et Bacon’s menu will also feature comfort food items like a fried chicken sandwich and made-from-scratch chicken tenders. Clark’s knack for cooking top-notch fried chicken landed her multiple appearances on Food Network programs, including a win on “Throwdown With Bobby Flay” and a visit from “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” host Guy Fieri, who stopped by her Maryland restaurant, The General Store, a decade ago.

Clark graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine, a lauded culinary school, in 1995. Since then, she worked in several Washington, D.C. restaurants before opening her own in 2001. She’s since opened restaurants and served dishes in both Maryland and New York, all on top of writing two memoirs.

While working to renovate the former Baby’s location — which closed in 2020 — Clark’s team is keeping a good portion of the foundation intact. Key decor elements, including the diner’s iconic booths, aren’t going anywhere. Newly painted walls and shelves will be lined with Americana decorations combined with a French flair.

“We’re not changing the bones of the old Baby’s,” Clark said. “We’re leaving the structure intact and building for the future.”

Clark, a New York native, moved out to Centre County alongside her consulting business to work with a group focused on opening restaurants in empty State College commercial spaces. That opportunity fell through, she said, but she stuck around and moved to Philipsburg to continue her work.

During that time, Clark felt State College would serve as the perfect backdrop for her next culinary venture.

“Having spent some time here, I thought, ‘This would be a really neat place to have a cool restaurant.’ Everybody seems to love and enjoy eating out, and that’s what you’re looking for in a population,” said Clark, who plans to formally move to State College once she opens the restaurant.

Although Clark once hoped to open her restaurant in August, a debut in early September may be more likely, she said. Once Oeuf Boeuf et Bacon launches, customers could expect breakfast service to begin around 8 a.m. with the kitchen closing sometime between 7 and 9 p.m. Clark suggested her team might tinker with hours, potentially staying open later on weekends or opening a bit later on Sundays to accommodate the restaurant’s brunch service.

No matter when Oeuf Boeuf et Bacon opens, Clark says she’s excited to bring something new to the borough.

“I think this is a community still in need of great places to eat,” Clark said. “That’s what we’re banking on.”