SCRANTON — After four decades on North Washington Avenue, Ross Jewelers found a new home in downtown Scranton this month.

The business started in the Hotel Jermyn building on Spruce, now Biden, Street in August 1981 and moved to 211 N. Washington Ave. as of June 1986.

Faced with the need to relocate, Ross Jewelers moved into the former Scranton Hobby Center building, 517 Lackawanna Ave., on Oct. 5, owner Carol Ross said.

“So far, so good,” she said. “I think we’re in a better location. There is more foot traffic, more car traffic.”

Ross feels the parking situation along Lackawanna Avenue also suits the family-owned business better as cars don’t seem to linger as long.

“We have some spaces right in front and they seem to be in and out,” she said. “It’s not like North Washington where you had a lot of people who worked in town. They’d feed the meters and there was no parking for customers a lot of times.”

Martin “Ace” Levandoski — who serves as a jeweler, diamond setter and watchmaker — said the full-service store specializes in repairs, custom jewelry, watches and engraving.

“We do all repairs here on the premises,” Ross said. “We have a lot of really good customers. We try to do whatever we can for them.”

Since reopening in the new spot, Ross has noticed an influx of new visitors as well as some long-standing customers.

Developer John Basalyga set his sights on constructing apartments on the upper floors and finding a commercial tenant for the ground floor after purchasing the property at 517 Lackawanna Ave. from Wayne Evans.

In addition to building two apartments on each of the two upper floors, one was also constructed on the back half of the ground floor behind Ross Jewelers.

“It’s super important that we bring businesses back downtown,” Basalyga said. “It’s a necessity. Ace Levandoski has been a friend of mine for a long time. I think whoever owned his building had different plans for it and he needed a place to go. It was just a perfect fit and perfect timing.”

In September, Basalyga reopened Coney Island Lunch next door at 515 Lackawanna Ave. after revamping the building and also constructed a new building — housing Raegan’s Ice Cream Shoppe — at 513 Lackawanna Ave.

“Keeping those types of iconic businesses in the downtown is paramount to me,” Basalyga said. “I don’t want a (place) like Ross Jewelers to go to Dickson City or go outside the downtown. We can’t have them fleeing the city, the downtown; it hurts everybody.

“Lackawanna Avenue, in my opinion, other than Mulberry Street, is the busiest street downtown and it needs to look good. Having these little shops lined up again like they used to be a long time ago is a great feeling.”

MONDAY UPDATE

THEN: Ross Jewelers first established a business in Scranton in 1981.

NOW: Ross Jewelers moved to a new location at 517 Lackawanna Ave. in the city on Oct. 5.