State College has seen interesting businesses, but one local entrepreneur is preparing to enter a market that has rarely been tapped -- selling varieties of ravioli.
"You can't get fresh pasta anywhere in the town," said Robert Ricketts, owner of Fasta and Ravioli Co. "It's filling a need of the community."
Ricketts said local grocery stores carry fresh pasta, but "the quality isn't there."
As several downtown businesses close their doors, Ricketts plans to open Fasta and Ravioli Co. in mid-September on 129 S. Fraser St. Ricketts originally planned to open a salad shop, but he changed his mind because he believes fresh pasta is an "underserved market."
Ricketts said State College residents can expect 60 different varieties of ravioli, including jalapeno dough with black bean corn sauce and dessert raviolis filled with chocolate.
"If you can stick it in the ravioli, I can make it," Ricketts said. "It's fresh, it's quick and there's none around here."
Downtown Improvement District Director Jody Allesandrine said it's going to be good for residents to have a novelty-type eatery where they can buy pasta.
"It's going to be a unique offering for downtown," Allesandrine said. "It's one more entity that we have to offer."
Ricketts graduated from Penn State two years ago with a degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. He purchased a ravioli maker during his senior year and even did class projects on pasta.
"I've always been an entrepreneurial-type person," Ricketts said. "I was working and it struck me to make a pasta business."
State College Mayor Bill Welch said the shop sounds "interesting" because it's taking a different angle on familiar food.
"I've been looking forward to trying that," Welch said. "There's nothing better than fresh pasta."
