{"id":201701,"date":"2026-05-25T04:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/201701\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T04:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:37:09","slug":"borthwick-brothers-open-new-cidery-in-downtown-scranton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/201701\/","title":{"rendered":"Borthwick brothers open new cidery in downtown Scranton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three brothers transformed a downtown Scranton property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past in the process.<\/p>\n

Tom, Mike and Alex Borthwick \u2014 through their firm Mod Real Estate LLC \u2014 purchased the building at 503 Linden St. in May 2024 for $500,000, according to a deed recorded in Lackawanna County.<\/p>\n

Following extensive renovations, the brothers opened Electric City Ciderworks\u2019 Scranton location in early April, Tom Borthwick said.<\/p>\n

The location previously housed the Judge and Jury and the Irish Wolf Pub, and most recently an after-hours club, Borthwick added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we bought it, the windows were shot out, the ceilings were collapsing, and there were leaks everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cThe building was in very bad shape \u2026 it was kind of a disaster. We patched everything up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Borthwick noted the brothers paid homage to the city\u2019s history while rehabbing the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe exposed brick on one wall and made sure to really pay attention to the vibe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u00a0actually used trim from the (former) Lincoln-Jackson Elementary School and slate chalkboards from the (former) John Marshall school, where I went to elementary school. Even though the place is technically brand new, it has a very nice lived-in feel to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After opening the original Electric City Ciderworks location on South Main Street in Old Forge in July 2022, the Borthwick brothers turned their attention to downtown Scranton.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of downtown living, and there are a lot of people coming to visit the city who want to go someplace unique and different,\u201d Tom Borthwick said. \u201cWe\u2019re very lucky and proud to offer that in the city that we love.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou used to think of abandoned storefronts and condemned buildings left, right and center. Now, developers can\u2019t make apartments fast enough, there are people walking their dogs on Courthouse Square and pushing strollers with babies in them. For this dramatic a turnaround to occur has been wonderful to witness, and now it\u2019s even more wonderful because I\u2019m a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to multiple ciders on tap throughout the year, the establishment also partners with several local breweries \u2014 including Groove Brewing and Mutant Brewing in Scranton, Pittston-based\u00a0Blind Cat Beer Co., Scott Twp.-based Last Minute Brewing, and Palmyra Twp.-based Hopping Eagle Brewing Co., Borthwick said.<\/p>\n

Borthwick stated the ciders they offer differ from others served in the region and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ciders run on the drier side. We use champagne yeast, so everything is going to be a little lighter and a little bit more bubbly than maybe what people are used to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Currently open Thursday through Saturday, the Scranton cidery location will also add Sunday hours in the next two weeks, Borthwick said.<\/p>\n

Borthwick stressed their late business partner Scott\u00a0Lodwick, who served as cidermaster at the Old Forge location before passing away last May at the age of 43, would be thrilled with the new Scranton location.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know Scott would be absolutely beaming with pride for the downtown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As streetscape improvements \u2014 including new sidewalks \u2014 continue throughout downtown Scranton, Borthwick expressed optimism about the future of his new business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the beautiful accordion glass doors we have, we\u2019re going to be able to add outdoor seating,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you think about events like the World Cup coming to downtown Scranton, it\u2019ll be nice to sit outside on a beautiful sunny day with a cider looking at all the amazing events going on at Courthouse Square.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday Update<\/p>\n

THEN: Tom, Mike and Alex Borthwick purchased a property at 503 Linden St. in May 2024 for $500,000.<\/p>\n

NOW: The brothers opened a new Electric City Ciderworks location in April at that spot in downtown Scranton. They previously opened a cidery in Old Forge in July 2022.<\/p>\n

\"AA menu of options displayed on a chalklboard is shown at Electric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in Scranton opened in April. Three brothers, Tom, left, Alex, middle, and Mike Borthwick, transformed the downtown property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past in the process. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"ElectricElectric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in Scranton opened in April. Three brothers, Tom, left, Alex, middle, and Mike Borthwick, transformed the downtown property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past in the process. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"PeoplePeople enjoy an evening at Electric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in downtown Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"ElectricElectric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in Scranton opened in April. Three brothers, Tom, Mike and Alex Borthwick, transformed the downtown property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past in the process. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"AA selection of ciders are available at Electric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in Scranton. Three brothers, Tom, left, Alex, middle, and Mike Borthwick, transformed the downtown property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past in the process. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)
\n\"AA glass of cider is shown at Electric City Ciderworks on Linden Street in downtown Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three brothers transformed a downtown Scranton property into a new cidery while preserving some of the city\u2019s past…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[60,201,182,16790,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-201701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-business","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-old-forge","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}