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By Margaret Roarty mroarty@timesleader.com
Tiffany’s Reloved owner Tiffany Zito, 42, poses for a photo outside the storefront at 86 Main Street.
Times Leader File Photo
Wilkes-Barre Township Mayor Carl Kuren, left, watches on as special guest, Wilkes-Barre City Mayor George Brown, offers remarks during Wawa’s grand opening.
Times Leader File Photo
Wilkes-Barre Township Wawa employees serve hot coffee to the hundreds who showed up for the grand opening. The line ran down the side of the building, around back and back to the front of the building in 25-degree weather.
Times Leader File Photo
The new Wilkes-Barre Township Wawa held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with store manager Tammi Fennelly and Wilkes-Barre Township Mayor Carl Kuren doing the honors of cutting the ribbon. Wawa dignitaries, along with members of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, were present.
Times Leader File Photo
Sheetz Grand Opening, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony, was held on Thursday, June 13.
Times Leader File Photo
Nucleus Raw Foods moved to 115 Tener St., Luzerne.
Times Leader File Photo
The new Kirby Center marquee is equipped with LED lights. The last time the marquee was updated was 25 years ago.
Times Leader File Photo
Fully-renovated bathrooms in the lower level of the Kirby Center.
Times Leader File Photo
Fully-renovated dressing rooms in the Kirby Center.
Times Leader File Photo
Executive Director Joell Yarmel, left, gives brief remarks in September as several Kirby Center ushers stand and watch.
Times Leader File Photo
According to Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce Director of Economic Development Shanie Mohamed, the Wyoming Valley experienced incredible momentum in business growth this year.
“2024 showed a lot of business activity in the Valley from an entrepreneurial and economic development perspective,” she wrote in a recent email to the Times Leader.
Mohamed noted that this year, the chamber saw businesses become more active in building their own workforce, with an increased interest in entrepreneurship.
“In 2024, the Chamber has welcomed over 3,000 individuals and businesses to more than 50 events, providing invaluable opportunities for networking, collaboration and innovation. Additionally, we’ve showcased over 200 businesses, helping to elevate their visibility and success in our region,” Ahmad Ali, director of the Chamber of Commerce, added.
Diamond City Partnership executive director Larry Newman said 2024 was a good year for Downtown Wilkes-Barre, despite the city still adjusting to post-pandemic realities.
“During the first 11 months of 2024, the total number of weekday employee visits to Downtown averaged 57% of the 2019 figure. This is the highest it’s been since 2019 – but it’s also clear that the impact of remote work on downtown office occupancy isn’t fading any time soon,” said Newman.
However, non-work visitation to Downtown rebounded more rapidly, Newman said, with total non-work visits to averaging 82% of the 2019 figure.
Newman pointed out several big business projects that took place in 2024 in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, including the $8 million renovation of the former Times Leader building into the Kowalski Center for Advanced Health Sciences, to the new Building Blocks Learning Center occupying the ground floor of 116 South Main St.
As we look forward to a new year, here are some more highlights in business news the Times Leader covered in 2024, from the Diamond City and beyond:
New Businesses
According to Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, the city saw 27 new brick-and-mortar restaurants and retail food locations this past year, as well as 12 new food trucks.
Evergreen WB was one new business to open in 2024.
Located at 27 E. North Hampton St., the plant shop officially opened its doors on March 7, with an inventory full of house plants and cacti, hand-picked by owners Holly Pilcavage and Sara Crolick.
Through partnering with local artisans and creators, the shop also features handmade pottery, cards, soap, jewelry and more.
“It feels really special to be apart of this moment of revitalization in Wilkes-Barre. We’re seeing so many incredible shops pop up,” Crolick said at the time.
On the other side of the river, longtime fashionista Tiffany Zito opened her secondhand shop, Tiffany’s Reloved, in September.
Located at 86 Main Street in Luzerne, the thrift store and consignment shop — which was a bank in the 1970s — is jam-packed with carefully curated items. You can find just about anything inside — dishware, furniture, clothing and jewelry. There’s even a vintage boutique section.
“I want this to be a comfortable place where people can come and feel welcome no matter what’s going on out there,” Zito said at the time, adding that she also offers complimentary coffee.
Wawa moves to Luzerne County
After more than a year of anticipation, Wawa opened its first location in Luzerne County in more than 40 years on Dec. 6, as reported by Times Leader columnist and reporter Bill O-Boyle.
Located in Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township, the opening day ceremony saw dozens of customers line up outside before the doors were even open.
“I love the sandwiches,” said Sykes, 41, of Wilkes-Barre, at the grand opening. “Especially the Italian hoagies.”
But like so many others in the crowd, there was one more reason to celebrate.
“No more runs to Blakeslee or White Haven,” she said, citing two other Wawa’s in Northeast Pennsylvania. “This is our Wawa right here in Wilkes-Barre.”
Wally Goose, Wawa’s official mascot, greeted hundreds of customers. The grand opening featured free 60th anniversary T-shirts for the first 100 customers, free any-size hot coffee, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
A new Aldi location also opened up in Union Center Plaza in December.
Wawa plans to further expand its footprint in Luzerne County in 2025, with proposed locations in Dallas Township and Plains Township.
The Dallas Township store is expected to be built next to Tractor Supply on Route 309. The proposed site in Plains Township is near Mohegan Pennsylvania at the intersection of East Main Street and Route 315, across the street from Sheetz.
Speaking of Sheetz, the business opened its 8th location in Luzerne County back in June.
For the grand opening, Sheetz welcomed customers by offering free self-serve coffee and soda for the entire day.
Customers attending the grand opening were encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item to the Weinberg Food Bank, and many complied. Those who donated received a Sheetz-branded thermal bag while supplies lasted.
Businesses Saying Farewell
While a ton of new businesses took root in the valley this year, several others bid us farewell.
Boozy B’s, a popular alcohol-infused ice cream parlor, closed its flagship location at the Midtown Village in downtown Wilkes-Barre this past summer after four years in business.
Owner Bianca Lupio posted the announcement to the shop’s Facebook page, where she expressed gratitude for the “unwavering support” of her customers over the past five years.
“As I reflect on the memories I’ve shared and the relationships I’ve built, I am filled with a profound sense of appreciation. My family and I have weathered many storms together, but through it all, your support has remained steadfast,” the post read.
Boozy B’s held its final Wizarding Weekend, which had become a staple summer event, in August.
At the time, inflation and fewer people coming downtown were a few of the factors that contributed to Lupio making the difficult decision to close the shop.
“Everything has changed so much since (the COVID-19 pandemic),” Lupio explained. “This year, it really hit us.”
Still, the closing of its brick and mortar location might not be the end of Boozy B’s.
“You’ll see us again for sure, but we’re weighing out our options now and seeing what’s best for us,” Lupio explained. “Whether that’s a potential food truck or another location somewhere else.”
Another long-time business downtown closed its for good earlier this spring.
As originally reported by Times Leader reporter and columnist Bill O’Boyle, Mimmo’s Pizza on Public Square announced it would close for good in April after 42 years.
Owner Mark Bronsburg said he was ready to retire with his wife, Nancy, but added that he may look for another job at some point, probably within the food industry.
“It’s what I do best,” he said at the time. “This is what I’ve done all my life.”
Additionally, several businesses changed hands in 2024, with long-time owners looking to retire and new owners stepping up to take over.
For example, CrisNics Irish Pub owner Dennis Flaherty sold his restaurant to John “Bounce” Dennis in January.
“I love this place, and I want Bounce to be successful,” said Flaherty, who has been in the bar/restaurant business for nearly 40 years. “This has been a great place with great employees and great customers.”
Changing locations
2024 also saw the return of Magda’s Family Catering and Pizza in its new location at 840 Scott Street in July — 14 months after its former location on Gardner Avenue, then named Magda’s Pizza and Deli, was destroyed by an early morning fire.
The building he transformed into the restaurant was previously a gas station and then a garage.
Owner Dave Magda said at the time he had a lot of help getting the restaurant back on its feet. After months of work and $100,000 in renovations, the only evidence of the building’s history lies in framed photographs the owner hung on the wall, as a reminder of how far they’ve come.
Also in 2024, Nucleus Raw Foods closed its doors in September after roughly a decade on Main Street serving up organic and plant-based smoothies, sandwiches and more, in preparation for its move to a new location just a few streets away.
Owners Danielle McGrogan and Kamri Ramirez closed the Main Street location in order to prepare for the grand opening of the shop’s new spot at 115 Tener Street.
The owners said via Facebook post that they will be “taking the entire month of September off to make this move as smooth as possible,” although there is no word yet on exactly when the shop will reopen.
Renovations on the Tener Street location are still underway, with the owners giving a new update in November.
“We’re making progress each day and are excited to create an even better experience for you. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to our improved space,” read a social media post on Nov. 1.
Preserving historic downtown buildings
Several historic buildings in Downtown Wilkes-Barre were given the promise of new life in 2024, thanks to Scranton-based developer John Basalyga, president of the Basalyga Group.
City council approved the sale of the former First National Bank building on Public Square back in September for $450,000.
At the time, Basalyga told council that he planned to turn the century-old building into a fine-dining restaurant and music venue.
No plans were set in stone, but Basalyga said he envisioned the space housing a hospitality business that doesn’t compromise the original architecture — like the vaulted ceilings — or the general layout of the interior of the building.
Built in 1906, the bank stood vacant for many years before the city bought it for $225,000 at a Luzerne County delinquent-tax sale in 2004.
The deal is expected to close in early 2025, ending the city’s years-long battle to sell the building.
Several deals fell through in the last few years, most recently with Michael Bloxton, principal of Bloxton Investment Group and Big Public Square LLC, which agreed to purchase the building this past January before eventually backing out.
In November, it was announced that Basalyga also planned the purchase two mansions on South River Street from Joe Matteo, who is retiring.
The Mary Stegmaier Mansion at 156 S. Franklin St. was sold for $1.75 million, and the Frederick Stegmaier Mansion at 304 S. Franklin St. was sold for $1.4 million, according to Luzerne County records.
Regarding the two Stegmaier mansions, Basalyga said he both are beautiful buildings and he commended for bringing them back and restoring their grandeur.
“We intend to do some different things, but we will be sure to pay homage to the Stegmaier family,” Basalyga said.
At the Mary Stegmaier building, Basalyga said all custom furniture will be featured in the fine dining area that will compliment the decor of the building. He said he will also redesign the bar area and enhance the second-floor level that will be used for weddings and other events. Basalyga said the restaurant will be open four or five days a week.
Basalyga said the Mary Stegmaier restaurant will open in 2025.
It was actually a pretty big year for historic buildings in Wilkes-Barre.
The F.M Kirby Center on Public Square was completely restored in September, less than a year after a massive water main break dumped half a million gallons of water into its lower level, destroying offices, bathrooms and dressing rooms.
Although the Kirby Center took a summer hiatus beginning June 3 in order to complete the restoration work, the venue remained open throughout most of the construction process.
Executive Director Joell Yarmel thanked the entire Kirby Center staff, especially the ushers, during to her brief remarks for holding down the fort amid reconstruction efforts.
“You were there every step of the way,” she said. “Last year was extremely difficult not utilizing this space for 1800 people at times and using portable bars and trying to maximize every inch of the space. You made it look effortless.”
Marketing Director Neil Prisco’s favorite addition would have to be the new, fully LED light marquee. The theater didn’t have access to the marque at all during its restoration efforts, and seeing it lit up again after being out for so long warmed his heart.
“I’ve always believed that when the lights are on in front of the Kirby, downtown lights up” he said at the time.
“It shines.”
