Bussiness
Business Year in Review: Closures, near sales among top stories
The collapse of the sale of several area hospitals, the closure of longtime businesses, and a change in ownership were among the most noteworthy business stories throughout the past year in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Commonwealth sale falls through
An agreement that would have seen the nonprofit WoodBridge Healthcare purchase Commonwealth Health and its financially struggling hospitals collapsed in late November after the would-be buyer was unable to secure bond financing for the acquisition.
Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc. described the decision to terminate the agreement as mutual.
The transaction would have seen WoodBridge acquire Commonwealth’s Regional Hospital of Scranton, nearby Moses Taylor Hospital and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, along with other health care assets, from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Commonwealth’s for-profit parent company.
WoodBridge announced in late July its intent to acquire Commonwealth from subsidiaries of CHS for $120 million.
Riccardo’s closes; Schiel’s reopens the store
Schiel’s Family Markets, which opened its first Wilkes-Barre store on Hanover Street in 2000 before expanding to a location on George Avenue in 2005, opened its first Lackawanna County store at 1219 Wheeler Ave. in Dunmore Dec. 8.
Riccardo’s Market closed at the end of October after a 90-plus-year run in the borough.
Riccardo’s moved from its first location to a larger building on South Blakely Street, which it leased, in 1993 at the former home of a Giant Market, before constructing an even bigger store on Wheeler Avenue, which opened in April 2010.
Chamber reacquires former TMG Health site
In June, the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, through its business development subsidiary, the Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company (SLIBCO), announced it reacquired 38.39 acres encompassing lots 25 and 26 within the Valley View Business Park in Jessup for $2.85 million. The chamber plans to market the land to companies in the advanced manufacturing, bio and life sciences, energy, technology, and food and beverage sectors.
The approximately 150,000-square-foot former TMG Health/Cognizant building, a $20 million project, opened inside the Valley View Business Park in July 2012. The building was demolished at the end of 2023.
Ben-Mar closes in Carbondale
The Ben-Mar Restaurant along North Main Street, which opened in 1963, closed in November.
Dominic Zazzera took over ownership about a decade ago and rebranded the restaurant as Little Nikki’s at the Ben-Mar.
The Ben-Mar property was sold to the Greater Carbondale YMCA, which also occupies a building across the street.
Wide World RV closes in Plains Twp.
Wide World RV Center Inc. – which previously provided temporary living spaces for residents impacted by the Agnes Flood – closed its doors Oct. 31 after nearly 60 years of serving the community.
Guy and Joan DiAndriole started the business outside their Old Forge home in 1966 after purchasing a 13-foot Serro Scotty camping trailer in 1962 and embarking on trips with their three daughters – Faith Hales, Francine Ogonosky and Maria Torre.
In 1967, the family’s three-car garage was transformed into an office, service center and store, and the DiAndriole’s had eight campers for sale.
Significant revenue from sales to a government agency catapulted the company forward when flooding from Hurricane Agnes ravaged the greater Wilkes-Barre area in 1972. The business relocated to Highway 315 in Plains Twp. and incorporated itself as Wide World RV Center Inc. the same year.
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Major Geisinger Wyoming Valley expansion project planned
In June, officials touted the benefits of a significant expansion project geared toward providing an enhanced patient experience at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp.
The nearly $900 million expansion and renovation of Geisinger Wyoming Valley will include the construction of a new 11-story patient tower and increase the facility’s capacity for emergency medicine, critical care, trauma care, surgical services and an advanced cardiovascular program through an additional 600,000 square feet of space.
The project marks Geisinger’s single largest investment in its 109-year history.
The first phase of the project, encompassing the bed tower and adjacent base that expands and renovates the emergency room, is expected to be completed in 2028. Renovations to other areas of the medical center will continue through 2030.
Upgrades to Geisinger Wyoming Valley will include 58 new medical/surgical inpatient beds, 24 new intensive care unit beds, 22 new emergency treatment rooms, six new operating rooms, and two new structural heart rooms for valve procedures, officials said.
Yuengling announces planned expansion into Illinois
Pottsville-based Yuengling, America’s largest brewery, will soon be available in more than half of the country after a planned expansion into Illinois in January 2025.
However, the brewery, founded in 1929, doesn’t have any immediate plans to sell the beer nationwide, company officials said.
Yuengling produces 2.7 million barrels a year in Pottsville, Mill Creek and its Tampa brewery, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, a trade publication.
Farm-to-table grocery store planned for Pottsville
Josiah and Angela Meck, owners of Honey Brook Farm, announced plans to open The Farm Store, a 2,500-square-foot farm-to-table grocery in a former bank building at 113 E. Norwegian Street. The store is projected to open in October 2025.
The Mecks, whose 81-acre farm is in South Manheim Twp., were awarded a $100,000 grant to open the store under the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce’s Ignite Schuylkill Initiative.
In December, the Schuylkill County Commissioners preserved an 81-acre tract at Honey Brook Farm from future development.
Ownership change for Pines Eatery in Hazleton
A renowned restauranteur stepped forward to maintain the legacy of the Pines Eatery and Spirits.
Carlos Monclus – who owns Station 33, 31 E. Diamond Ave., which also has a food truck and trailer, and Make Sushi at 463 W. Broad St. in the city – held a grand opening for the Pines, 8 W. Broad St., Suite 50 in early December. The former owners closed the Pines Aug. 30.
Hayden Power Group opens new facility in Hazle Twp.
Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hayden Power Group’s newest location June 6.
The new 50,000-square foot building, which sits on 10 acres, at 410 Airport Road, houses a 10-ton crane and a multimedia training center that fits more than 100 people.
The total cost of the project was between $10-12 million.
Florence and George Hayden Sr. started the business in 1975.
In 2020, George Hayden Jr. joined forces with Baldo Trevino, a longtime employee and friend. After the acquisition of the Howard Organization in Bloomsburg, they merged the two companies to form the Hayden Power Group.
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