Breakfast in State College isn't just for early birds anymore.

For the large number of Penn State students who love to sleep in, an inexpensive and tasty breakfast will soon be available well into the afternoon when The Donut Hole on College Avenue opens later this month.

"I've always wanted to open a doughnut shop; in fact, I've been thinking about it for the past 13 years," owner Bill Ryerson said. "I moved to State College a few years ago to manage a bookstore, and I noticed that there was no place that sold fresh doughnuts around here, so I figured let's do it -- let's open a doughnut shop."

Ryerson is focusing on completing the renovation of his new restaurant at 426 E. College Ave. The shop, which was scheduled to open in January, is now projected to open by Feb. 20.

The doughnuts, which will cost 65 cents each and $5.50 a dozen, will be made fresh every morning. There will be more than 20 varieties available each day, ranging from standard flavors like chocolate to specialty flavors like banana, he added.

Downtown Improvement District Director Teresa Sparacino said she has received complaints from students and downtown employees about the lack of doughnut shops downtown. But The Donut Hole should fill that void, she said.

"Being in a central location, The Donut Hole is definitely going to fit the needs of hungry students and people traveling to work via College Avenue in the morning," she said. "The location is also great, because in the morning there are always empty parking meters on that block, so it will be easy for people driving to work or school to pull in quickly, grab some breakfast and pull back out."

Victoria Lennox (sophomore-English) said she thinks the doughnut shop will do very well, although she said the shop could become addicting.

"This could be really dangerous for students because the doughnuts are so cheap that they will be going in there all the time," Lennox said. "I know I'll definitely be visiting The Donut Hole on a regular basis."

In addition to doughnuts, Ryerson said he is also planning on including breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, coffee and soda on his menu.

The Donut Hole, which will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is strictly a takeout restaurant, but Ryerson said he is looking into delivery possibilities. The new restaurant will also be included on LionMenus.com.

Lan Dang (freshman-biochemistry and molecular biology) said she thinks the new shop is an "awesome" idea, but she also feels that closing at 3 p.m. is a drawback.

"I love late-night snacks when I'm studying, and I know a lot of other students do, too, so I think that a place like The Donut Hole would do much better if they were open until late at night," Dang said.

Ray Toper (sophomore-mining engineering) said he also thinks that The Donut Hole will be a great addition to downtown State College.

"It drives me insane sometimes that there is nowhere downtown to get breakfast food really early in the morning ... This is going to be popular since it will be opening so early," Toper said.

Ryerson said he is amazed by the positive reactions from both students and State College residents. "About 99 percent of the people I have talked to think this is a great location since it's right across from campus and there are a lot of hungry students looking for breakfast food in the morning," he said.