Longtime shops contribute to thriving downtowns in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre

Anthony “Butch” Boccardo remembers the days when jewelers could be found in many buildings and along the streets.

“At one time, back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Scranton was a big town for jewelers,” he said. “Our father started off as a jewelry repair man and diamond setter. He did the work for other jewelry stores up and down the East Coast.”

As more shops move in and out of the downtowns in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, there are plenty of examples of longtime business — like Boccardo Jewelers — that have adapted and withstood the churn of time to remain at the heartbeat of the cities.

Outlook 2026 — an annual examination of the region’s economy and its future that appears inside the newspaper today — delves into areas contributing to the health and vibrancy of both downtown Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, including accessibility and public transit, getting a meal, obtaining groceries, grabbing breakfast or a cup of coffee in the morning or a cocktail in the evening, and places to visit like parks, libraries and museums.

This year’s edition, “Heart of the Cities: How Our Downtowns Shape the Region” shares stories from developers, residents, and shop owners about the ongoing revitalization of downtowns — both big and small — throughout Northeast Pennsylvania, and also offers on-the-ground observations from reporters at The Times-Tribune and The Citizens’ Voice who spent a full day navigating the central city areas of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

For more than four decades in Wilkes-Barre and more than 30 years in Scranton, Boscov’s has served customers with doorbuster deals and quality customer service. Despite industry challenges, CEO Jim Boscov stressed the local shops continue to thrive.

“We’ve been through a lot, but the stores still do very, very well,” he said. “Last year, both of them had increases in sales that were bigger than the increases of the company overall. I really attribute that to the loyalty of our customers — they love us and we love them. The other thing I see is we’re attracting additional customers and attracting a broader range of ages, which I think is very healthy.”

The prevalence of jewelers might have dwindled since the late Alexander “Sandy” Boccardo founded Boccardo Jewelers in 1938, but the business at 201 Jefferson Ave. remains popular in the city for those needing repairs or high-end merchandise like diamond rings.

“We’re one of the oldest, established businesses and we’re still here,” Butch Boccardo said. “We do most of the stuff in-house; we have benches where we do watch and jewelry repair on the premises.”

In addition to longstanding shops and eateries, local developers targeted retail establishments in recent years to complement their properties in the downtown as a way to drive traffic to the cities and offer amenities to their tenants.

Charlie Jefferson brought Bar Pazzo and Mutant Brewing to the Connell Building on North Washington Avenue, and Black & Brass Coffee to Penn Avenue.

Casey and Adam Donahue and Nick Dye of D&D Realty brought Picciocchi’s Pasta and 7 Under Gold & Social to the Oppenheim Building on Lackawanna Avenue. They also brought a restaurant, The Burnt Norton, and a golf simulator, Virtual Fairways, to the company’s property at 45 E Northampton St. in Wilkes-Barre.

John Basalyga opened A’tera and Sergei’s Live at the former Tink’s property on Linden Street, and local restaurateur Rob Friedman plans to open an eatery inside the GAR Building, owned by Don Mammano by the summer.

Despite several moves throughout the years, Boccardo noted support hasn’t wavered as the third generation of the family is now involved with the business.

“We were on Washington Avenue, we were on Spruce Street, and now we’re on Jefferson Avenue,” he said. “We still have a lot of walk-in customers, and we’re grateful for that.”

In recent years, Boccardo noticed a shift within the industry as more customers are looking for lab-grown diamonds.

“The natural diamonds have sort of gone by the wayside the last year or so,” he said. “That’s a big change for the business. Whether it’s good or not, we don’t know.”

Boccardo compared the price differences to when plasma and high-definition TVs were introduced many years ago.

“I put them in the philosophy of plasma TV screens when they first came out — they were $5,000, and now you can buy it for $200,” he said. “They flooded the market with (these diamonds). Once they found out how to create these things, every lab in the world is making them now. The price comes down every day on them, and this is what we’re selling.”

Leslie Collins, president and CEO of Scranton Tomorrow, a nonprofit community and economic development organization, highlighted the success of downtown retailers.

“A number of businesses have gone through transitions, and Abe’s Deli (326 N. Washington Ave.) is a great example,” Collins said. “Abe’s has been in the downtown for decades.”

Collins added Jerry Mizrachi — who purchased the century-old business in 1977 — remains active in the shop, even as Renato Luongo took over ownership.

“I think that’s a great long-term success story — how they’ve moved from various locations within the downtown and maintained their clientele, and continue to grow,” she said. “They really have diversified throughout the years.”

Jenn Saunders, owner of Northern Light Espresso Bar and Cafe, 536 Biden St., purchased Little Wild Refillery in October and relocated the business to 540 Biden St.

“That’s a great success story, too,” Collins said. “She’s made a lot of really cool changes and the original owner’s son works at Northern Light.”

Boscov’s footprint in Scranton started in 1993 when the department store was one of the anchor tenants of the Steamtown Mall, now Marketplace at Steamtown, along Lackawanna Avenue.

The Wilkes-Barre store opened in 1980 at the site of the former Boston Store on South Main Street.

Boscov credits longstanding, dedicated employees for the success of the local stores.

“We have wonderful co-workers who’ve been with us for a long time,” he said. “I bet if I interviewed the staff in Wilkes-Barre, and asked how many were there since the store opened, there would be several people who were there the whole time.”

Additionally, the company strives to keep up with customers’ changing demands, Boscov said.

“We react to the times,” he said. “If you look at ladies’ activewear, prior to COVID, it was not as big a deal as it is today. Right after COVID, during COVID, and afterward, it really grew. We reconfigured the floor to give it the space it deserved.”

In an attempt to attract young families, Boscov’s bolstered its inventory of children’s shoes — a move that has paid dividends, Boscov said.

“We have a wonderful shoe department but until a few years ago, it was very modest in terms of kids’ shoes,” he said. “We’ve more than doubled the business for the last two years, and we’re going to triple the business this year.”

Boscov’s also expanded its beauty department by adding an adult studio line from K Beauty to compete with stores like Ulta and Sephora, Boscov said.

“We continually try to add reasons to come to Boscov’s without taking away any of the reasons that already exist,” he said. “I love the idea of becoming more attractive to the younger customer, but never at the expense of distancing ourselves from our existing customers.”

As other department stores struggle to survive, Boscov’s bucks the trend by looking to establish new stores, including one in Rochester, New York, which opened in October.

“There are articles written about us and talk about us as being the last man standing or the odd man out,” Boscov said. “We’re the department store that is adding spaces. At the same time, Macy’s closed 66 stores last year. We’re growing and we continue to look for new locations. We have a tremendous assortment of inventory and our pricing is better than most places.”

Most of all, Boscov believes the privately-owned aspect of the business provides an advantage over the big-box retailers.

“We have salespeople on the floor who have been with us for years, are knowledgeable, love people, want to help, and that matters,” he said. “We’re a family business, and that means you know who you’re working for. You’re not working for the stock market, you’re working for your customer.”