In the heart of downtown State College lies Weirdoughs Custom Pizzeria: the most energetic restaurant in town where you can let your inner weirdo run wild.
When walking into Weirdoughs, you'll hear the stereo blasting classic college bangers, smell the custom pizzas being made with care, and see the smiling faces of the pizza-loving patrons. You'll step up to the kiosk, and pick through the most abundant list of custom pizza toppings in State College, ranging from arugula to Cheez-Its. You'll feel right at home, since the vibes at Weirdoughs are incomparable, whether it's noon or 3 A.M.
The 12'' Cheese-A-Palooza and 12'' BLT Pizza at Weirdough'sPhoto By Abby Jarecki
Owners and family friends Joe Boss and Omer Dogru envisioned this high energy space when opening Weirdoughs in September 2020. While the coronavirus pandemic led to the closing of Brothers Pizza, the State College shop that Dogru's parents owned, it allowed for Weirdoughs to switch from being a dream to becoming reality. Boss has been conceptualising a space like this for about ten years, and he viewed this as the perfect opportunity to continue the legacy of pizza and family on 204 E. College Ave.
And even during the pandemic, Boss and Dogru were able to create a booming business in Happy Valley. According to Boss, Weirdoughs has been able to produce about 200-300 pizzas an hour, and they even had to invest in a third oven due to the demand of pizzas.
As Dogru is a Penn State alum and State College native, he helped open Boss' eyes to the electric spirit of Penn State. This spirit, says Boss, is one of the reasons why Weirdoughs thrives at Penn State. The restaurant is active on game days, bringing in DJs to get customers hype, and has plans of starting Karaoke nights and more. "We want Penn State to make this their place," Boss said in our interview, just like the Central Perk of Friends or the Monk's Cafe of Seinfeld.
Additionally, many student organizations have hosted fundraisers at Weirdoughs, as it is truly a place for all Penn Staters to come together, eat good pizza and support causes that are important to them. Sororities, fraternities, THON organizations and more have come to Weirdoughs as "the spot" to fundraise.
"Weirdoughs has just scratched the surface," said Boss. "We have so much more that we want to do, it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be creative, it's gonna be Penn State."
