Downtown Scranton coffee shop Adezzo to close next month

Robert Tomkavage, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 25—SCRANTON — A coffee shop in the city's downtown — popular among local musicians and college students — will close next month.

The final day for Adezzo, 515 Center St., will be Nov. 5, said Cecelia McMullen of Scranton, a barista at the shop.

McMullen maintains many fond memories of the eccentric establishment.

"It was a great place to work — great environment, great ambiance," she said. "I'm really sad to see it close, but hopefully that means good, new beginnings."

McMullen noted the closure will leave a void in the downtown.

"It was definitely a gem to the community," she said. "It's sad for the students because they need a change of scenery to study besides the library and their dorms or apartments."

Zummo's Café owners Jason and Robin Berndt took over Adezzo several years ago. A post on the Adezzo Facebook page Wednesday announced the plan to close.

"After nine years of successfully running Zummo's Café, we had hoped to bring our success from Zummo's to the downtown area," the post says. "After two-and-a-half years in the area, we simply did not have enough foot traffic to sustain the business."

Lindsay Joyce, general manager of Zummo's Cafe on Marion Street, and formerly Adezzo, stressed Adezzo served as a hub for local artists throughout the years, however the upcoming closure was unavoidable.

"It was a very big part of the arts community downtown with our First Fridays, musicians, the Jazz Festival, Fringe Fest," Joyce said. "We're sad to see this happen, but unfortunately this was our only decision."

Leslie Collins, president and CEO of Scranton Tomorrow, cherished the relationship between the nonprofit community and economic development organization and the coffee shop, and was sad to learn of its closing.

"Adezzo was such a welcoming and unique space," she said. "We've worked very closely with them throughout the years. It's a huge loss for our downtown."

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