2022 in review: Top 10 business stories in Lackawanna County

Jan. 1—The closure of a longtime wedding and event venue and plans for a tower that would transform Scranton's skyline highlight the top business stories of 2022 in Lackawanna County.

In other news, a well-known bakery briefly closed before being revived under new ownership and a car dealership changed hands after 70 years under the same family's leadership.

The Sheetz vs. Wawa debate may also soon engage the region as Wawa submitted plans to establish the chain's first location in the county.

Here's a roundup of 2022's top business stories.

Genetti Manor in Dickson City closes

Genetti Manor's 40-year run as a hub for weddings and community events ended at the end of June.

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, his age and a shift in ceremony preferences led to the closure, said Gus Genetti, 83, president of Genetti Hospitality Group.

Genetti estimates millions of people visited the facility on Main Avenue over four decades while many others learned valuable employment skills there.

Genetti Manor also served as the backdrop for hundreds of boxing bouts, many featuring local fighters like Marty Flynn and Chris Mills.

Plans for downtown Scranton tower materialize

Developer John Basalyga's plans for a 17-story building on Franklin Avenue and Mulberry Street call for a hotel on lower floors, residences above, an indoor restaurant and a rooftop pool.

He estimates the project's cost at $80 to $100 million, making it one of the largest projects downtown since the Mall at Steamtown in the 1990s, which Basalyga bought in 2015 and remade into the Marketplace at Steamtown.

The tower would be located at the site of the former Red Carpet Inn & Suites, 320 Franklin Ave., that Basalyga bought in July 2021 for $1.7 million. The motel was demolished to make room for the new structure.

The 350,000- to 400,000-square-foot project would span Franklin Avenue between Mulberry and Linden streets.

The city's 125-foot building-height limit would go to 180 feet downtown under a proposed zoning code in the works.

Agostini Bakery in Old Forge closes, sold, reopens

About four months after a popular Downvalley business closed its doors, a new owner purchased Agostini Bakery and vowed to continue supplying local grocery stores and eateries with bread, hoagie rolls and pizza shells.

William Lombardo, owner of Lombardo's Market in Yatesville, purchased Agostini Bakery, which remains at 1216 S. Main St., for $180,000, according to a deed recorded Sept. 27.

The bakery, a community staple established in 1907, closed its doors in June amid inflation and staffing challenges.

Wawa location planned in ScrantonThe city's zoning board approved variances June 29 that advanced a developer's plan for a Wawa convenience store and gas station along Moosic Street and off Meadow Avenue in South Scranton at the site of the former Profera's Pizza.

It would be the first Wawa in Lackawanna County and the northernmost location for the convenience store chain based in Southeast Pennsylvania.

However, a month later, a convenience store/gas station next to the site of the proposed Wawa appealed zoning approvals for that project.

C.F. Marts of Pennsylvania Inc., operator of the Convenient Food Mart/Gulf gas station at 1100 Moosic St. at Meadow Avenue, sued the Scranton Zoning Board over approvals granted for a developer's plan.

In a lawsuit filed July 29 in Lackawanna County Court, C.F. Marts claims the board erred in granting a special exception for a major convenience store/gas station on a tract along Moosic Street and Meadow Avenue, as well as a driveway variance and three sign variances, all sought by the Wawa developer, NDA Moosic LLC.

Penn Paper sold to Illinois-based firmIllinois-based Envoy Solutions acquired Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Co., the century-old Scranton business whose iconic building is featured in the opening credits of "The Office," as of Dec. 1.

However, the company also known as Penn Paper has no plans to relocate from Scranton or vacate the widely recognized building at Vine Street and Penn Avenue, Pennsylvania Paper President Douglas Fink said.

Fink's grandfather, Jacob Fink, founded the business in 1922, when he began selling grocery bags and twine to local stores.

The company branched into other areas over the decades and now distributes a wide variety of paper, packaging products, cleaning supplies and equipment to multiple industries. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in May.

Gibbons Ford sold to Rhode Island-based automotive groupGibbons Ford, a staple in Dickson City for more than 70 years, was sold to Tasca Automotive Group following a nationwide search for a new owner, dealer principal John Grow said in October.

"I wanted a family-owned dealership with the same values we have and is financially sound enough to continue to make progressive investments in this place," Grow said. "They are exactly what we are — customer and employee friendly."

Grow's father-in-law, Martin Gibbons, started the business out of an old gas station at 704 Boulevard Ave. in Dickson City in 1949. The business also operated at 950 Main St., Dickson City, before relocating to its current location on Martin F. Gibbons Boulevard six years ago.

Grow expected the sale to be finalized around Thanksgiving.

New breweries open in ScrantonVoodoo Brewing Co. opened a brewpub at 820 S. Washington Ave. in early December.

The new business specializes in craft beer, handcrafted cocktails and pub cuisine, including whole smoked wings, beer mussels and giant pub pretzels.

Voodoo produces a wide selection of craft beers, including a West Coast-style IPA called Good Vibes, sour-style Berliner Weisse called Lacto-Kooler and a traditional golden American Lager, Oh Mama.

Cooper's Family Brewing launched May 24 inside Cooper's Seafood House at 701 N. Washington Ave.

The microbrews, crafted by brewmaster Jesse Cooper, range from the 3.8% Sir Fatsby's English Mild to the 6.8% Diver Dan's Dunkelweiss. Other beers include Captain Cooper's Lager, Skippy's Maiden Voyage IPA, Wilma the Whale's Wit and 77 & 7/8th Inch Pale Ale.

Jack Cooper, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother, Paul, dreamed of building a microbrewery in the cellar of the restaurant for decades.

Geisinger projects move forward Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast, a collaboration between Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare, is projected to open in July 2023.

The 96-bed, 73,000-square-foot inpatient behavioral health facility at 60 Glenmaura National Blvd. will serve adult, pediatric and adolescent patients who struggle with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis and PTSD.

Dawn Zieger, associate vice president of behavioral health for Geisinger, stressed the new facility will fill a major void for mental health care in the region, particularly as Commonwealth Health closed First Hospital in Kingston — which provided inpatient psychiatric treatment for children, adolescents and adults.

Seeking to fill another vital need in the community, Geisinger and local officials broke ground in Dickson City in June on a $58 million cancer center offering radiation oncology, a first in Lackawanna County for the health provider. The facility is expected to open in late 2023 and bring about 36 jobs to the area.

Geisinger previously announced plans in October 2021 to build the 55,000-square-foot center along Viewmont Drive, which will offer wide-ranging care.

Local unemployment rate falls to lowest level on record The unemployment rate for the Scranton/Wikes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Area dropped to 4.8% in November — the lowest the rate has been since April through June 2000. It's also the lowest rate on record for the metro area, dating back to Jan. 1976, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Warehouse boom continues in countyMayfield Borough planners conditionally approved preliminary plans Dec. 7 for an 850,200-square-foot warehouse on Meredith Street — one of five proposed warehouses within about a mile-and-a-half stretch along the Casey Highway.

Easton-based Langen Development Economics aims to build three large warehouses on mine-scarred land in Mayfield and Carbondale Twp.

Reading-based Century Development Associates LLC proposed plans to build nearly 2 million square feet of warehouses east of the Casey Highway near Rushbrook Street in Mayfield and Archbald.

Work is also underway on two sprawling warehouses in the Midvalley.

Construction appears to be largely completed at the 750,000-square-foot Jessup Logistics Center at Route 247 and Alberigi Drive, and crews are developing the site of a 1-million-square-foot warehouse, named the Scranton North Logistics Center, at 1300 Corporate Way in Olyphant, just off East Lackawanna Avenue.

Another company recently spent $75 million amassing packaging and warehousing facilities throughout Lackawanna County.

MPS Topco LLC bought four properties from limited liability companies affiliated with Carbondale-based Millennium Enterprises, acquiring sites in Carbondale, Fell Twp. and Taylor.

Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @rtomkavage on Twitter.