INDIANAPOLIS -- On the corner of 42nd Street and Boulevard Place in Butler Tarkington, you'll find a little slice of Pennsylvania and Kristina Mazza's home back east.
”My rolls are shipped in from South Jersey," Mazza said.
It's the real deal or nothing for her. Authentic food from her home is all Hoagies & Hops does.
”This is where they can come to get that taste of Pennsylvania," she said.
Mazza, a Penn State grad and native of southeast Pennsylvania, moved to Indianapolis years ago. After a while, she started to miss the hoagies and other staples of her heritage and thought other transplants might too.
So, she opened up Hoagies & Hops. For nearly seven years, it's been in Butler Tarkington and become home to so many people originally from the East Coast.
”We have people who come in to just try and watch as many games as they can with us," Mazza said. "We have Penn State watch parties every Saturday."
Her restaurant has become a gathering spot for transplants just like her.
”Every week we meet new people, and it's all about everyone getting together," Mazza said. "And they just start talking, 'Oh where are you from? Where are you from?' And it's a small world and they end up knowing people. It’s exciting."
This weekend is one of her biggest ever. Her alma mater, the Penn State Nittany Lions is coming to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game.
”We have a lot of people coming out this way," Mazza said. "It’s going to be blue and white, baby."
Penn State faces Oregon on Saturday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium. It's only the fifth time the two teams from opposite sides of the country have played each other.
Oregon fans coming from the team's home state travel roughly 2,200 miles to get to the Circle City. Penn State has just a fraction of that at right around 500.
Mazza expects it to be a home game for Penn State, and she's looking forward to plenty of her fellow fans stopping by her restaurant on their way to the game.
”The comments that I'm getting on my social media feeds, 'I can't wait to come out and try you. I heard that you’re here,'" Mazza said.
Mazza will be in Hoagies and Hops as her favorite team plays just 10 minutes away on Saturday night. She's hosting a watch party and won't close the doors till the final whistle blows.
”I’ve actually told staff to pretend this is Super Bowl weekend," Mazza said.
Any customer ordering at Hoagies and Hops Friday or Saturday in Penn State gear gets 10% off their order. Mazza said they'll be open until 9 p.m. Friday, until the game is over Saturday night and back open Sunday for the Eagles game.