Kristen Favata and chef Michael Langdon are co-owners of the Rotten Tomato Meal Company in Pittston. (MELISSA JANOSKI/STAFF PHOTO)
A new Dime Bank branch location will open along Dunmore Street in Throop in late November or early December at the site of a former PNC Bank. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Much of the Sheetz convenience store has been demolished and the gas pumps have been removed as part of a renovation project. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
Rich Adams, owner of Around Town Bicycles in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, plans to close his shop on Oct. 8 after 22 years.
(Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
It’s all fun, food and games in NEPA with new businesses opening around the region to offer everything from coffee, sweets, soft pretzels, hot dogs, ice cream, board games, role-playing campaigns and mini golf.
Coney Island Lunch reopens with retro style and frozen treats
Hot dog! Coney Island Lunch in downtown Scranton is back in business.
John Basalyga’s retro remake of the restaurant at 515 Lackawanna Ave. opened Sept. 14 to brisk business.
The revamp of the building features brick facades, fabric awnings, a large “Coney Island” sign across the front and 10-foot-tall sign of a grinning, cowboy-hatted Texas Lunch wiener character giving a big thumbs-up — all with a retro ’50s feel. Along with refreshed retro interior décor, the counter now is on the opposite wall from the prior counter’s location and a wall in the rear opens into the ice cream shop addition, Raegan’s Ice Cream Shoppe, next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave.
Decorations also pay homage to the restaurant’s history and its prior owners, brothers Pete and Bob Ventura, who ran the restaurant for nearly 50 years.
The renovation project also involved constructing five apartments on the upper two floors.
Revamped miniature golf course in the works for Red Barn Village
More than three years after John Cicilioni purchased the 20-acre Red Barn Village property on Newton Ransom Boulevard for $1.6 million, plans are in place for a new, modern miniature golf course on the site.
Cicilioni brought on Sal and Katie Conaboy — owners of Scranton-based Harris Miniature Golf Courses Inc. — and siblings PJ and Mara Lahey — who own Lahey Family Fun Park in South Abington Twp. — to bring new life to the once-popular attraction, with plans to open the new course, along with a grocery store on the property sometime in the spring. The property also includes 18 apartments and a bed-and-breakfast.
Conaboy, who grew up in Newton Twp., remembers playing the Red Barn course and aims to make the new layout a destination for the whole family.
“Driving past it every day and knowing what it used to be, it’s just something we felt like we needed to do for the community,” he said.
Plans call for the new course to follow the original footprint from the 1970s but with a whole new layout, featuring waterfalls and streams, Conaboy added. The owners also plan to preserve many of the old buildings from the former course on another part of the property as a homage to the past.
Sword in the Stone Games opens second location in Laurel Mall
Board game store Sword in the Stone Games opened its second Luzerne County location Sept. 11 in the Laurel Mall in Hazle Twp.
Sword in the Stone opened its first location 10 years ago at 117 Washington St. in Wilkes-Barre before moving to the Wyoming Valley Mall in 2022, where it still operates today.
“It’s amazing to be able to open the store after all the work we’ve put into it; exciting, scary and relieving, too,” said owner Ryan Cerulli. “Our hope is that we’ll be able to offer people a space where they can enjoy their hobbies and hang out with friends that you just can’t replicate in an online setting.”
Sword in Stone has products ranging from trading cards, minifigures, model kits, painting sets, board games and role-playing campaigns. There’s a role-playing game room where customers can enjoy their own story campaigns with friends or take part in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that’s been running for more than nine years in conjunction with other game stores throughout the region.
Rows of tables and chairs also provide space for up to 50 people to play games they bring from home or try new ones from what the store provides.
“A lot of these games can be pretty expensive to get into, so we want to give people who might be interested a chance to see if they’d get their money’s worth first,” Cerulli said. “It matters more to us that people find something they’ll love for years and years than just selling a product.”
Store hours are 1 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 1 to 11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Coffee Inclusive opens Cedar Avenue location
A new coffee shop in South Side, Scranton, offers more than espresso and cappuccino — it also provides a space for growth, learning and belonging.
About three and a half years after opening its first coffee shop on Kennedy Boulevard in Pittston, Coffee Inclusive officials teamed up with United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania to create employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the new cafe in UNC’s CEDAR Center, 526 Cedar Ave.
Frank Bartoli, president and CEO of PA Inclusive and Coffee Inclusive, noted the new facility fills a void for residents in Scranton and Lackawanna County.
“We heard a lot of people say, ‘I’d like my son or daughter to have a job, but I can’t get to Pittston,’” he said. “Coming closer to another community where we can employ more people is a great opportunity. (UNC) had envisioned a coffee shop as part of their redevelopment of this building and and we just fell in love with the vibe.”
The CEDAR Center, in a rehabilitated former bank building, serves as a community anchor for programs and neighborhood activity, including adult education, English language learning, career readiness, multicultural wellness programming and the year-round South Side Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Two grandmothers team up to open GiGi’s Ice Cream shop in Tamaqua
Sisters Amy Melicharek and Josie Miller opened GiGi’s Ice Cream on Broad Street the first week of September.
The shop’s name, its blue and pink color scheme and even flavors named after grandkids Myla and Cyrus all pay homage to their grandchildren and their families. With that in mind, they hope to make a welcoming place for other families to gather.
“We both love ice cream. Who doesn’t, right?” Melicharek said. “So we thought opening an ice cream place would be a wonderful thing to do for the community. We want it to be a cute little place for families to hang out and make happy memories.”
There is seating for about 15 inside, and outside seating available at numerous tables on the large lit patio area behind the building. There are also chairs along the porch and takeouts are available.
GiGi’s serves about 20 flavors of hard ice cream, soft-serve chocolate, vanilla and twist, plus doughnuts, churros, hot dogs and soft pretzels. Seasonal and holiday sundaes will be on the menu, as are milkshakes, coffees and dirty sodas, with the option of adding strawberry or blueberry boba bubbles to any specialty drink.
Hours are noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
Auntie Anne’s hosts grand re-opening at Laurel Mall
Auntie Anne’s pretzel store held its grand reopening Sept. 11 at the Laurel Mall.
Originally opened in 1993, the store was forced to close last year when the neighboring TJ Maxx store expanded into the space it once occupied. But since then, people’s appetite for the salty snack hasn’t diminished one bit.
“We’re really excited to have the store back; it’s a very popular spot with visitors. Ever since they reopened in August, it’s been nothing but good business,” said Rocco Arruzo, the general manager for the Laurel Mall. “Even during the ceremony, while we cut the big red ribbon, there were people waiting in line to buy some of their food.”
Situated in the center of the mall, directly across from TJ Maxx, the food vendor is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Franchise owners Joseph and Tiziana Mazzarella also operate five other Auntie Anne’s in the area.
7 Brew Drive-Thru eyes fast food locations in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties
A developer seeks to demolish the Sonic drive-in restaurant on Kidder Street near the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre Twp. and the recently-closed Burger King at 1028 Northern Blvd. in South Abington Twp. to open a growing national drive-thru coffee and beverage franchise.
The new business, 7 Brew Drive-Thru Coffee, submitted plans to the Wilkes-Barre Twp. Planning Commission calling for demolishing the existing Sonic building and canopies over the ordering kiosks in the parking areas to build a 858-square-foot property with three drive-through lanes. Plans for the Lacakawana County site call for a new 510-square-foot building to be constructed, along with two drive-thru lanes covered by canopies.
Unlike at most drive-throughs, 7 Brew customers order face-to-face to an employee rather than using the traditional speaker boxes. In addition to coffee, it is known for its specialty drinks that include teas, fizz sodas, lemonades, smoothies, shakes and flavored energy drinks.
Founded in 2017 in Northwest Arkansas, currently the closest 7 Brew locations are in Reading, Selinsgrove and Binghamton, New York.
New Pittston meal prep business delivers comfort food
The Rotten Tomato Meal Company is serving up house-made, single-serving entrees, salads, soups and desserts for takeout or delivery within 12 miles of its downtown Pittston location.
The goal of the Rotten Tomato Company, which takes its name from its home in the “Quality Tomato Capital of the World,” is providing fresh comfort food on demand seven days a week, with a menu that changes regularly. With no eat-in option, the shop is for people who want a home-cooked meal but are just too busy or uninterested in doing their own cooking. On a recent day, 150 orders of chicken marsala with ricotta cavatelli were snapped up in a few hours.
“We saw a niche that wasn’t filled quite yet,” said co-owner and chef Michael Langdon, who has appeared on “Hell’s Kitchen” with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and has worked locally at Alter House Restaurant & Bar in Clarks Summit, Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic and the Huntsville Golf Club in Lehman Twp.
Orders can be placed at Rottentomatopittston.com. Specials and availability are updated frequently on social media.
New hardware store opens in Hazleton
Hazleton Home Center opened in early September at 459 W. Broad St., Hazleton, in the former A&A Auto Store.
Owner Janny Rodriguez and her husband, who have experience in home renovation, opened their first hardware store, High Bridge Hardware in the Bronx, New York, five years ago. She said their work experience helps them know what customers need to complete their own building and repair projects.
“So far, the response from the public has been great. We’ve gotten a lot of interest from people while we’ve been setting up the building for our use. They’re all excited to have a new store here in the city,” said Janny. “We want to offer a more personalized experience than what you could get at a big box store, so that when people come in they’ll find us there to help them.”
Rodriguez, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who moved to the United States as a teenager, has family in the Hazleton area who encouraged her to open the new location.
Hazleton Home Center currently operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and offers a variety of products for home renovation, including gardening tools, hardware supplies, cleaning products, concrete mix, kitchenware and more. Services also include key duplication and paint mixing in-store, with plans to possibly provide home delivery services in the future.
Partial demolition, major transformation planned for Wyoming Valley Mall
A Philadelphia development company is reimagining the Wyoming Valley Mall with an unnamed big box store anchoring the shopping center.
Plans aim to demolish the former Sears anchor store, the food court area and everything leading up to the former Bon-Ton store in the middle of the struggling mall to make way for a major development on property to include a standalone anchor tenant in the parking lot.
The remaining mall would get a new entrance facade and a 160,000-square-foot big box store with 852 parking spots and gas pumps would be built, Wilkes-Barre Twp. officials have been told.
“There’s a major developer that is interested in doing a project that will transform this area,” said Wilkes-Barre Twp. Solicitor John Rodgers.
An attorney representing the developer MSC Retail said he could not reveal the anchor tenant because the deal is still being finalized.
Dime Bank expanding to former PNC office
The Honesdale-based Dime Bank will expand its scope in Lackawanna County by opening a new branch in the Midvalley later this year.
Dime Bank purchased the property at 224 Dunmore St. in Throop from PNC Bank for $951,000, according to a deed recorded in Lackawanna County. The PNC Bank office at that location closed earlier this year.
“We just like the market and we’re excited to be part of the community,” said Peter Bochnovich, president and CEO of the Dime Bank. “We feel there are opportunities there. We have an office in Carbondale and we have one in Scranton, so we’re just kind of filling the gap. It’s going to enhance our ability to serve customers.”
Bochnovich anticipates the new bank will open in late November or early December after cosmetic improvements are completed. The Throop location will feature a full-service office with retail and commercial banking options with approximately five to six employees on site, he said.
Sky Zone Trampoline Park closes in Pittston Twp.
After more than 12 years in business, Sky Zone Trampoline Park abruptly closed recently in the CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park West.
“We’re Closed. We hope you had some fun times and created some great memories,” the company posted on its website in early September.
Sky Zone initially opened in September 2014 at 525 Keystone Ave. in CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park East in Jenkins Twp. in a building that also housed Maximus and C3i. Due to soaring popularity and visits by hundreds of thousands of customers over two years, the owners announced a move to the stand-alone Pittston Twp. location in October 2016.
Voodoo Brewing closes Scranton location
Voodoo Brewing Scranton permanently closed at the end of September, owners Kelley and Kevin Colleran announced “with heavy hearts” in a Facebook post.
The Collerans opened the Voodoo Brewing Co. location in the former David Silks building at 820 S. Washington Ave. in South Scranton in December 2022, offering a robust and diverse selection of beers and gourmet gastropub-style fare. It will close after nearly four years in business there.
Voodoo Brewing Co. was founded in Meadville in 2005, and opened its first taproom in 2012. It’ has since expanded dramatically, with locations in more than a dozen states, according to its website.
“This meant a whole lot to all of us and we hope it meant a lot to all of you as well,” the Scranton franchise’s Facebook post concludes. “We will miss you. Love, The Voodoo Scranton Staff.”
Bank+ Vine closes in Wilkes-Barre
Bank + Vine, a fine-dining restaurant at 268 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, has closed after six years.
“We’re incredibly grateful for every guest who pulled up a chair, raised a glass, celebrated a milestone, shared a meal, or simply stopped in and made Bank + Vine part of their day,” the Friedman Hospitality Group said in a post on Facebook.
Local restaurateur Rob Friedman opened Bank + Vine in the former South Side Bank building in 2020, replacing Le Manhattan Bistro, which opened in 2014.
Sheetz store in Wilkes-Barre demolished again for rebuild
Years after being demolished to be rebuilt, the Sheetz convenience store and gas station on Wilkes-Barre Twp. Boulevard is again being demolished to be rebuilt.
Crews recently began demolishing the building at 464 Wilkes-Barre Twp. Blvd. (Route 309), across from Sam’s Club.
“The project includes the demolition of an existing convenience, gas station, and associated paved areas, and the construction of a new 6,139-square-foot Sheetz store, fueling island, associated parking areas, access drives, stormwater management facilities and utilities,” officials with Mechanicburg-based Integrated Consulting wrote in a report on behalf of Sheetz.
Preliminary plans called for the project to be complete by the winter of 2026.
Around Town Bicycles closing
Around Town Bicycles in downtown Wilkes-Barre has closed after 22 years in business.
Owner Rich Adams cited changes in the industry, a lingering “COVID whiplash” and an inflationary economy as the main reasons for his decision to close. Bicycle sales increased substantially during COVID and now there are a significant number of second-hand bikes available to buyers looking to save some money on their purchases during these trying financial times, Adams explained.
Adams, an engineer by trade who was presented with a full-time job opportunity outside the bicycle industry, also will no longer host the Saturday Morning Rides that have been popular in the area for nearly 15 years. However, he said the group will likely continue the rides on its own.
After the Oct. 8 closing date, Adams will be available by appointment to sell remaining inventory.