The Fatoum Bistro has opened its doors in State College and is serving up Eastern and Western cuisines. Co-owner of Yallah Taco Hitham Hiyajneh held its soft opening on February 28 at 532 Westerly Parkway.

Hiyajneh is partnering with the owner of Kaarma Indian Cuisine to bring in an extended menu with a wide variety of international dishes. According to its menu, the bistro offers an assortment of affordable salads and soups, with the soups starting at $5.99 for a cup and $7.99 for a bowl, along with breakfast and lunch menus.

“Everything I do is because I can’t find anything I can make it in this town,” Hiyajneh said. “If you look on our menu, we brought the West and East all together.”

The lunch menu includes a variety of nine Middle Eastern-inspired appetizers, such as hummus plates, fatteh eggplant, grape leaves, and samosa, to name a few. Some of the entrees listed include arayes, a variety of chicken dishes, such as chicken tikki masala, butter chicken, chicken liver, sakalans, and a street food sandwich, along with many other available items.

Its breakfast menu features six different eggs Benedict options, five types of omelets, five breakfast sandwiches, sweet and savory crepes, waffles, French toast, pancakes, and yogurt parfaits. The breakfast menu’s “Middle Eastern breakfast” section includes items like arnabeet, ful mudammas, a labneh plate, and two varieties of shakshuka.

Everything on the bistro’s menu is made fresh and in-house daily, with recipes and dishes brought from around the world. Hiyajneh even named the bistro after his mother Fatima, who often goes by “Fatoum,” and has worked in some of her favorite recipes.

“We bring in the taste of the Middle East, taste of India,” Hiyajneh said. “I want people to experience the food. We make a fava bean, Shakshuka, all these different things. If you look at our menu, it’s very big.”

Fatoum Birsto is Hiyajneh’s 10th restaurant he’s opened in State College, most recently opening Cluck & Catch, located beside Faotum, back in December, and ShokuPan, a food truck located right behind Yallah Taco in Calder Way, in September 2024. His family also owns the downtown Yallah Taco locations and Pita Cabana, along with several ghost kitchens.

“I think that food brings people together, and the start of a conversation is with food,” Hiyajneh said. “Doesn’t matter what faith you are, what the color you are — if you like chicken chicken tacos, you like chicken tacos, doesn’t make a difference.”

Fatoum will be temporarily open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week, with breakfast served until 11 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hiyajneh plans to extend the bistro’s hours to 5 p.m. relatively soon and then to 9 p.m. by April.