SCRANTON — Local developer John Basalyga’s revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building in downtown Scranton and the two properties flanking it continues to take shape.
A three-story, formerly blank stucco side wall of the building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. now sports numerous windows recently installed for the reboot of the restaurant on the street level and five apartments on the upper floors. The building also has an entirely new front facade and windows. Construction of an ice cream spot next door on a lot at 513 Lackawanna Ave. also is underway, as well as work on the building at 517 Lackawanna Ave., the former Scranton Hobby Center, adjoining the Coney Island Lunch building.
The dramatic transformation of the properties should wrap up early next year, he said.
“I would say probably another three months or something like that,” Basalyga said of when the work might be completed.
In December 2023, Basalyga’s JBAS Realty purchased the Coney Island Lunch property from C.I.L. Associates and Pete and Bob Ventura for $300,000. Basalyga also acquired the adjacent vacant lot and outer western wall attached to the Coney Island Lunch building from the Scranton Redevelopment Authority for $32,500.
The Venturas, who ran the restaurant for nearly 50 years and had been involved much longer, decided to retire and closed the landmark shop in December 2023. Their grandfather, Steve Karampilas, launched the business on Cedar Avenue in 1923, and their stepfather John Karampilas moved the eatery to 515 Lackawanna Ave. in 1988.
Basalyga embarked on his plans to revive the Coney Island Lunch restaurant, with apartments above and an exterior overhaul, and with a one-story ice cream stand next to the Texas wiener shop.
But delay hit Dec. 30, 2024, when the front wall of the Coney Island Lunch building collapsed during interior renovations.
“I never wanted to see it torn down,” Basalyga said of saving the building even though its front wall had caved. “It’s one of those special gems that Scranton had at one time.”
The vacant lot at 513 Lackawanna Ave., the former Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave., and the former Scranton Hobby Center building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, shown here in November of 2020. The three properties are now owned by developer John Basalyga, who plans to renovate the properties. (IMAGE COPIED / GOOGLE STREET VIEW)
The front wall of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in downtown Scranton collapsed on Dec. 20, 2024, while interior renovations were underway. (JIM LOCKWOOD/STAFF PHOTO)
The ice cream spot and apartments above will add revenue streams to the property, he said.
In May, when the Coney Island Lunch building’s front wall was still boarded up, Basalyga bought the adjoining, former Scranton Hobby Center building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. from former Mayor Wayne Evans.
Basalyga also plans to put five apartments above the former hobby center, and some sort of retail in the street-level space there. He also has rebuilt the rear wall of the hobby center building.
The project involving all three addresses — the lot at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and the buildings at 515 and 517 Lackawanna Ave. — will impart a new look and bring new activity in that block.
A rendering by Vicon Design Group LLC of developer John Basalyga’s planned renovation of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. and creation of an ice cream shop on the vacant lot next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave., as well as a renovation of the adjoining building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. (IMAGE PROVIDED / COURTESY OF ANTHONY TALLARICO AND VICON DESIGN GROUP)
Meanwhile, as part of an unrelated streetscape project, the city earlier this month removed the concrete median in the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue and added about 10 parking spaces on the odd-numbered side of the street that previously had none. Basalyga commended the city for removing the median and creating parking spaces there.
The 500 block previously got a boost in October 2023 with the completion of the Scranton Tomorrow Mural Arts Program’s larger-than-life mural, titled “The Office: The Story of Us,” on the eastern wall of the building at 503 Lackawanna Ave. owned by D&D Realty Group. Facing the Coney Island Lunch building’s western wall, this mural features characters and motifs from the beloved “The Office” sitcom and has become a tourist attraction.
Scranton Tomorrow Mural Arts Program’s larger-than-life mural titled “The Office: The Story of Us” on the eastern wall of the building at 503 Lackawanna Ave. owned by D&D Realty Group, in downtown Scranton on Nov. 24, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
In November, another new mural was completed down the street in the 300 block of Lackawanna Avenue, under the Crunch Gym bridge on a wall of the Scranton Art Haus theater that Basalyga also owns. “Call of the Wild: The Elephants of Nay Aug” mural by local artist Eric Bussart was a project of Scranton Tomorrow’s Mural Arts Program in partnership with Lackawanna County.
The growing downtown has growing momentum, Basalyga said.
“You see a lot of amenities open up downtown. That happened because of the apartments” created by him and other local developers, he said. “Downtown is now an area. Downtown is now a district. There’s a whole community. People want to live downtown. It’s becoming all that we always hoped it would.”
John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows the front of 515 Lackawanna Ave., at right, and in the background the mural of “The Office” sitcom, on an unrelated building owned by a different developer. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows the new framing construction on 513 Lackawanna Ave. along the side wall of 515 Lackawanna Ave. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows the new construction at 513 Lackawanna Ave. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows 515 Lackawanna Ave., at left, and 517 at right. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows the new framing construction on 513 Lackawanna Ave. along the side wall of 515 Lackawanna Ave. and construction of a concrete walkway. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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John Basalyga has a revamp of the Coney Island Lunch building at 515 Lackawanna Ave. in Scranton, construction of an ice cream shop next door at 513 Lackawanna Ave. and renovation of the former Scranton Hobby Shop building at 517 Lackawanna Ave. underway on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Photo shows the front of 515 Lackawanna Ave., at right, and in the background the mural of “The Office” sitcom, on an unrelated building owned by a different developer. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)