Coming home — and bringing new business — to Hollidaysburg

By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

Madalyn Martinsen loved her hometown of Hollidaysburg, but when her sister began studying abroad, she realized that she, too, wanted to venture outside of her small town. 

“I decided to save money to travel and visit her,” said Martinsen, who began working at Allegheny Creamery & Crepes, banking her checks for venturing abroad. However, what happened next set her on a path to the future. 

“I learned that I loved working in a restaurant environment and serving people,” she said. “Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island is where I ultimately chose to study culinary arts.”

From there, Martinsen worked in a few roles before returning to the region. The initial plan was to return with her Brazilian husband and stay in the Hollidaysburg area only temporarily — but to paraphrase the Scottish poet Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.”

When COVID hit, the couple decided to stay, renting a space at 205 Allegheny Street, and calling their new restaurant Mayfield. 

“It was where Ann’s Town Dairy operated for many years and was an old, unique space for an eatery, but we soon grew out of it and moved our equipment up a block, to the Capitol Hotel at 300 Allegheny Street,” said Martinsen.

The restaurant moved into the first floor of the Capitol Hotel in 2022. 

“We uncovered the original floor and made changes to highlight the building’s original features like the floors, mirrors and tin ceilings,” described Martinsen.

Today, the restaurant’s staff of 25 serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Pendulum Room, so named after an old grandfather clock in the building. In the basement, The Pipe Room operates similarly to how it has for the last 40-plus years. 

“When we moved into The Capitol Hotel, we also agreed, as per our lease, to operate The Pipe Room, so we cleaned up and it still operates as a local dive bar, but a bit more refined these days with fun cocktails and creative pub fare,” said Martinsen.

While, since opening, Martinsen admits she’s seen the challenges that many restaurants nationwide have experienced since the pandemic, such as staffing, ultimately, she’s happy she set up shop in Hollidaysburg. 

“It’s been fun serving the community, which has turned into a great network of friends. One thing we’ve noticed is that people are starting to come from farther away, which is awesome,” Martinsen said, calling her foray into entrepreneurship a challenging but rewarding learning experience.