The new year started with several new businesses opening or changing hands in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
Wawa expanding to several locations
Its seems 2026 will be all about Wawa.
Luzerne County’s newest Wawa opened Jan. 15 at 2935 Tunkhannock Hwy., Dallas. Twp.
Wawa opened a location on state Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Twp. in December 2024 and is planning to open stores on state Route 315 in Plains Twp., near Mohegan Casino, and across from Sabatini’s Pizza on Wyoming Avenue in Exeter later this year.
Several Wawa stores also are coming to Lackawanna County.
In Dickson City, the recent demolition of a small strip mall at Main Street and Viewmont Drive is making way for what could become Lackawanna County’s first Wawa location. There will be stiff competition for that title, however, as plans also are underway to erect Wawas at several locations, including along Cold Spring Road on Bell Mountain, just above Business Route 6 in Dickson City; in Scranton at Moosic Street and Meadow Avenue in South Side; in Carbondale Twp., along Meredith and Main streets, across from an existing Sheetz; and in Covington Twp., at Drinker Turnpike and Bochicchio Boulevard, near North Pocono High School. These projects are all in various stages of progress.
New bagel business opens in Plains
Neil Patel, 59, celebrated the grand opening of Toastee Bagels at 1329 Route 315, just north of the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino, on Jan. 9, proudly declaring, “I started this. This is my brand.”
He described Toastee Bagels as “authentic Jersey-style bagels that are crafted from scratch-made dough, then boiled and baked on cedar boards.” The bagels are hand-crafted and made fresh throughout the day.
The menu also includes breakfast sandwiches, pastries, coffee and espresso drinks. Lunch options feature hot and cold sandwiches served on a bagel, wrap or hoagie roll, as well as salads. Catering also is available.
Toastee Bagels is open daily 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Patel said more stores are planned for Dallas and Clarks Summit.
Nut-free bakery opens in Blakely
A new bakery recently opened in Blakely and the bakery business is in the owner’s blood.
Nicole Dubiac, 31, whose father owned Royal Bakery in Exeter for 31 years, recently opened Blank Slate Bakehouse, a nut-free bakery that offers gluten-free and vegan treats, including muffins, cakes and cupcakes, at 1000 Main St., Blakely.
“With my own personal experience with food allergies and intolerances, I want to include people and make sure they have options,” she said. “We had a ton of families come in saying ‘my son has a nut allergy, and we haven’t even been able to bring him into a bakery or get him a birthday cake.’”
In the coming years, Dubiac, who operates the business with her husband, Jose Paramo, wants to expand the bakery’s platform to include catering services.
Blank Slate Bakehouse is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Building Blocks coming to Scranton
Parents soon will have a new option for childcare in Scranton with the opening of a Building Blocks Learning Center.
The facility is expected to employ about 25 people and can accommodate about 150 students, 6 weeks to 5 years of age, said Zubeen Saeed, CEO, who founded the business in Plains Twp. in 2001.
Building Blocks’ newest location will open in March at 130 Wyoming Ave., in the former Wells Fargo bank building. The center will occupy the first floor and half of the second floor. The rest of the building will include 13 apartments that are currently under construction.
Building Blocks Learning Center also has locations throughout Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, the Back Mountain, Mountain Top, Hazleton and the Lehigh Valley.
Planet Fitness opens in Taylor
A new Planet Fitness gym, featuring more than 19,000 square feet of cardio and strength equipment, held its grand opening Jan. 29 at 1510 S. Main St. in Taylor. The new location is celebrating its opening by featuring special membership offers. Stop in or see the center’s Facebook page for details.
Wright Center in W-B to open on-site pharmacy
The Wright Center for Community Health will expand access to essential health services in Luzerne County with the opening of a new on-site pharmacy at its community health center in Wilkes-Barre.
The 1,400-square-foot pharmacy, located at 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., will be open to Wright Center patients and the public.
The pharmacy will open in mid-March and will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday under three licensed pharmacists.
“Several pharmacies around the region have closed over the past few years, so we’re excited to offer this service to our communities, whether they are Wright Center patients or obtain medical care elsewhere,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer.
New York pizza coming to Pittston
The owners of Grandma’s One Pizza in Manhattan are busy renovating the former Grace & Park at 14 S. Main St., Pittston, for their newest restaurant.
Mike Elsherbini, 40, who operates several pizza places in the New York area with many of his family members, became familiar with Pittston after making visits to a friend.
“I saw the potential Pittston has. And the landlord offered us a great location,” Elsherbini said. “Pittston deserves a good pizza from New York — a good New York-style pizza and good friends.”
“It’s a family business. Our recipes come from back in the old country, the homeland,” added Elsherbini, who described his family as half Italian and half Central American. He said it is called Grandma’s One because his grandmother first taught the family how to make pizza.
The Pittston location is expected to open by late February. Plans are in the works to open a second local location in Kingston.
Salerno’s in Old Forge gets new owner
An Old Forge pizza place that has nearly a century-long history is getting a new owner but is keeping all of its customers’ favorite recipes.
Jeff Adomiak, of Moosic, recently purchased Salerno’s Cafe from Michael and Terry Lettieri, who have operated the restaurant the past 50 years. The Lettieris cited their age and keeping up with a busy restaurant as reasons for the sale.
“We loved the business, we loved the people. It’s very sad, but we just need to retire,” Terry said, adding that the business will be in good hands.
“His father always came into the place, and (Jeff) came in as a young boy,” she said. “He’s from the area, so he’s going to keep everything the same.”
For his part, Adomiak is excited to get to work.
“I will be bringing 20-plus years experience with a few tricks up my sleeve — already have some in the works,” he said in a Facebook post announcing the change of ownership.
Former Holiday Inn becomes a Hilton
A DoubleTree by Hilton opened in Plains Twp. in January, Whitestone Companies announced.
The property at 600 Wildflower Drive — which was previously a Holiday Inn — became Hilton’s first DoubleTree hotel in Northeast Pennsylvania after a year of renovations, officials said.
The hotel offers a contemporary style guestroom, food and beverage outlets, banquet facilities and a fitness center.
Ohio-based Soartress Hospitality will manage the hotel, overseeing its day-to-day operations.
Harrold’s Pharmacy in South Wilkes-Barre has new owner, same services
Harrold’s Pharmacy, a mainstay in South Wilkes-Barre for decades, has a new owner.
Bruce Lefkowitz sold the business his grandfather opened on Old River Road over 70 years ago to Pratik Patel. The $3 million sale closed on Jan. 6.
“I didn’t want to sell it to a private equity firm or a chain. It was very important to me to sell it to an independent owner who would keep the Harrold’s name,” Lefkowitz said.
Lefkowitz’s grandfather, Harold Lefkowitz, opened the pharmacy in 1947 and his father joined the business 15 years later. He added an “R” to the name for trademark purposes.
Patel, 33, attained his pharmacist degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 2022. He and his wife, Nirali, who also is a pharmacist, most recently operated a pharmacy in Tennessee.
The pharmacy, which moved to its existing site at the former Old River Road Bakery around 15 years ago, will continue to offer the same services, including a walk-in laboratory, a doctor’s office, a retail pharmacy and specialty services like diabetic shoe fitting, personalized medicine compounding and a home infusion program.
Ripa Jewelers relocates to Church Hill Mall
A longtime Hazleton business is starting off 2026 in a new location.
Ripa Jewelers, a Hazleton staple since 1949, recently moved from its location of the last five years in the Laurel Mall to the Church Hill Mall, Hazleton.
Owner Jake Ripa said the decision to move came down to space. The new shop will have 2,600 square feet compared to 1,700 square feet.
“We’ve gotten so busy with our (repair) work and with the amount of customers we have that the area we had just didn’t fit the bill anymore,” Ripa said.
The new space will provide a larger showroom, a repair room and the ability to start casting jewelry again, which they were not able to do since they moved from downtown Hazleton to the Laurel Mall in 2018 because the mall lacked proper ventilation for the casting. The new store also will boast 21 showcases to display jewelry.
Scranton costume shop getting new owners and some updates
Taney’s Costume Shop in Scranton is getting new owners who plan to modernize the 100-year-old shop.
“When we saw the post that they were closing, we were absolutely devastated. Taney’s has been a staple in the community for 100 years, so we wanted to be able to save it,” said Dunmore native Ashley Nole, who is purchasing the property. “We definitely want to keep the reputation of what it was, what we sell, but we want to bring it up to date.”
Plans call for increasing the store’s social media presence and adding online ordering for balloons and other items and costume rentals. Nole and co-owners Spencer Shotto and Allison Engle plan to update the store’s 10,000 costume inventory, retire older costumes and add popular costumes for cosplay and Renaissance fairs. While these aspects may change, the store’s high-quality merchandise will remain.
“The quality of the costumes, the quality of the accessories and the quality of the stage makeup sold here sets Taney’s apart,” Nole said of the store, which was opened by an amateur magician in 1926 to supply costumes and makeup for shows in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.
Taney’s Costume Shop, at 648 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, is open Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Scranton Comedy Club eyes new downtown home
Laughter is on the move in downtown Scranton as the Scranton Comedy Club aims to make the second floor of the former Scranton Counseling Center building at 318-320 Adams Ave., its new home.
Scranton Comedy Club has promoted and produced shows at various venues in the area over the past several years under owner Kevin Lepka, including ones headlined by Gilbert Gottfried at the Ritz Theater in 2018 and Louis C.K. at Holiday Inn Scranton East in Dunmore in March, to name a few. Now it will have a permanent location for its comedy shows, both large and small.
Beginning in the next few months, Lepka plans to open the Scranton Comedy Club at the Adams Avenue building on Fridays and Saturdays. Ticket prices normally will range from $20 to $40, though prices would increase for big-name comedians.
Smokey Bones closes Wilkes-Barre location
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill on Mundy Street closed abruptly on Jan. 12 after more than 20 years in business.
A sign on the door notified customers, saying: “We thank our loyal guests for many wonderful years.”
Smokey Bones’ owner Twin Hospitality closed about 30 stores last year and announced plans to concentrate on profitable locations. Approximately 25 locations remain in the Northeast corridor of the United States.
Nanticoke’s NEPA’rogi closes
A Nanticoke pierogi shop that has been popular since it opened during the pandemic has closed its doors.
Lauren Gorney started the business in 2021 with the assistance of family after she lost her fundraising job due to the pandemic.
During its short history, NEPA’rogi was a staple at local festivals — its grand opening culminated with a “Polka in the Park” celebration. It also provided traditional pierogi for area restaurants and operated a food truck along with its Market Street location.
“What started as a little kitchen project during a wild time turned into something I will always be proud of,” Gorney said in a Facebook post. “Together, we kept a piece of our heritage alive.”
Tom Grudis Optical closing after more than four decades
Tom Grudis Optical, a popular eyeglass shop that has been in downtown Scranton for 45 years, is closing.
Grudis opened his shop in 1980 in the former Courtyard Mall, now Ritz Theater building, before moving to its current location on Biden Street, where it has remained for four decades. His daughter, Stephanie Grudis-Whisner, joined the business 33 years ago.
Grudis-Whisner explained the shop’s success was a result of personalization and customer service. They offered high-quality products and did all the repair and lens cutting work themselves on site.
“When you come in, you get one of us,” she said. “You know who you’re going to talk to and who you’ll deal with.”
And while operating the business they got to know their customers as well — some for generations.
“Some of the little kids are now grown adults with kids of their own,” Grudis-Whisner said. “We’ve been taking care of people all these years. It’s that old, small-business mentality.”