Where are the good stores in this area? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: real estate, home)

[Sir Eats A Lot]

I moved here about a year ago from Greenville SC and have noticed this area is missing many of the stores I used to go to in Greenville, a city with about 10,000 fewer residents than my current city of Scranton.
Specifically I'm thinking of

Trader Joes(78 miles away from Scranton)
Costco(82 miles away)
Whole Foods(82 miles away)
Ikea(110 miles away)
REI(100 miles away) or Cabelas(77 miles)
Apple Store(55 miles away)

There is also a surprising lack of supermarkets in Scranton. There's Giant and Gerrity's. That's it. And honestly, neither one is impressive in terms of selection or price. There's of course more choices in Dickson City, but not by much. There's also no decent hardware store, like an Ace or True Value in the city limits. Or a Walmart. It's either go to Dickson City or Taylor. How does a town of 75,000 people not even have a Walmart?

According to Wikipedia, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre municipal area is the 4th largest in Pennsylvania, yet we have no decent shopping but two casinos. So people have money for gambling but not for Costco?

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Sir Eats A Lot

I moved here about a year ago from Greenville SC and have noticed this area is missing many of the stores I used to go to in Greenville, a city with about 10,000 fewer residents than my current city of Scranton.
Specifically I'm thinking of

Trader Joes(78 miles away from Scranton)
Costco(82 miles away)
Whole Foods(82 miles away)
Ikea(110 miles away)
REI(100 miles away) or Cabelas(77 miles)
Apple Store(55 miles away)

There is also a surprising lack of supermarkets in Scranton. There's Giant and Gerrity's. That's it. And honestly, neither one is impressive in terms of selection or price. There's of course more choices in Dickson City, but not by much. There's also no decent hardware store, like an Ace or True Value in the city limits. Or a Walmart. It's either go to Dickson City or Taylor. How does a town of 75,000 people not even have a Walmart?

According to Wikipedia, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre municipal area is the 4th largest in Pennsylvania, yet we have no decent shopping but two casinos. So people have money for gambling but not for Costco?

Become an activist! Call, write, email the home offices of stores that you want in your area. If the home offices are close enough; pitch them in person. That is what I did with the Giant Market chain, home office in Carlisle, when my job took me to their area. I always wanted more competition in Monroe County. So I pitched our area. I am not going to claim I made a difference since these stores cost hundreds of millions of dollars in investment; but we now have a Giant Market in Bartonsville.

Nothing ventured; nothing gained. If you talk to the right person, at the right time; who knows what the outcome will be? It could be that little nudge that makes a difference at their next board meeting.

PS Welcome to the forum! I was thinking of having an avatar: Seefood! I see it and I want to eat it!

[jimazee]

You seem to just miss your favorites. For most things you list there are 'similar' stores nearby. In fact, some think there is plenty of shopping near Scranton. Unless you don't have a car... Dickson, Taylor, Old Forge, Chinchilla etc. are easy to get to. (They are all part of 'greater Scranton area' anyway). Heck there are two Walmarts and probably 10 supermarkets within 10 minutes from our place. (where do you live...? IN the city? are you seeking walking access?)

I think city of Scranton has historically had high business mercantile type taxes and other issues that discouraged in city stores in various ways. This is why DC and Moosic shopping prospered.

Sure the stores you mention have their its fans...but not everyone feels shopping deprived. e.g. for food many prefer and shop Wegman's. For most near Scranton, it is a short drive every week or two. Food basics are fine in Shurfine, Weiss, Aldi, PC, etc. There's no Costco but there's a Sam's Club. etc... No Cabella's (there are FOUR of them in all of New York and New England) but PLENTY of gun shops and outdoor shopping in the area and a new Dick's/Field and Stream in Dickson.

Granted, no IKEA...probably a demo problem. It was rumored they were looking in NEPA recently...but ...Maybe Apple is a demo issue too as there was a repair store for a while.

Then you can always shop online...UPS and FedEx are very active here.

Bottom line is the companies you mention have surely LOOKED at the area, and for now don't think there best place to build/invest was here. It happens with all businesses, everywhere.

You'll just have to: adjust; drive; try to convince them to move here; ...or move again . Good luck...and welcome to NEPA.

[MaverickDD]

Originally Posted by Sir Eats A Lot

I moved here about a year ago from Greenville SC and have noticed this area is missing many of the stores I used to go to in Greenville, a city with about 10,000 fewer residents than my current city of Scranton.
...Or a Walmart. It's either go to Dickson City or Taylor. How does a town of 75,000 people not even have a Walmart?

Walmart has always fascinated me. Recently, I've done extensive research into Walmart because I'm trying to determine if their future will be more like Sears/KMart's or more like Amazon's. Some observations relevant to your post:

Yes, Walmart is America's largest retailer; but their roots are firmly planted in the south. They eliminated more of the competition there, so store numbers are more dense. Walmart's model is to avoid lone locations. Generally, where there's one Walmart, there are others close by.

In South Carolina, Walmart has a Supercenter for every 85k people, whereas store density in PA is half that; one for every 175k. Regardless that Mrs. Clinton was once on their board of directors, Walmart is much more popular in red states than in blue states. South Carolina is ruby red whereas Pennsylvania is princely purple.

More importantly, Walmart avoids urban. Their brick+mortar retail marketing plan demands huge real estate footprints with large parking lots. Walmart expects customers to come by car. Hence they usually locate outside "the city". A large determinant of where they locate is price per square foot of real estate. Urban real estate is expensive!

My history is in New Jersey and the NYC Metropolis.
• There is no Walmart in Newark or Jersey City although each city has over a quarter million people.
• Nor is there a Walmart in any of New Jersey's ten largest cities.
• And here's a real shocker... although over 8 million people live within the city limits, there is no Walmart in New York City!
Why not? Price of real estate is a key factor. (Of course, there are some exceptions. Walmart's Philadelphia waterfront property was a clean-up and rebuild so the property came dirt cheap.)

As for Scranton, residents have four Walmarts within 15 miles, the closest being in Taylor. Those are the stores that Walmart expects Scranton residents to patronize. That's four stores for the half million residents of Lackawana and Luzerne Counties, so its more likely that a Walmart in Scranton would steal business from its other stores than attract new business, making it unlikely to see a Scranton store in the short run. But hey... ya never know!

Yet your city-data name triggers a tangent discussion. One of NEPA's shortcomings are its eateries. Golden Corral, Steak 'n Shake, and Shoney's are not to be found; one Cracker Barrel in Wilkes-Barre. Hmm...

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by MaverickDD

.......... one Cracker Barrel in Wilkes-Barre. Hmm...

I wished that we had one here in Monroe County! You would think it would fit right in!

[boney89]

Scranton area is economically limited so retail not storming there.First time i see somebody complain about not having walmart.

[Gerania]

Wilkes-Barre has Wegmans. One stop shopping. I love that place.

[Chefkey]

True you are out of luck on all those stores, when I lived in the Philly area I used to go to Williams Sonoma a lot but they also are not here. I used the request store form on the Trader Joe's website and even gave the coordinates for the empty lot next to the Mohegan Sun Arena and the 81 offramp at exit 168 TWICE. They never responded either time. I would agree with the others though that the Dickson City shopping hub as well as the Wilkes-Barre shopping hub have many many stores to choose from. Just not the ones you want unfortunately. As Gerania said, Wegmans is the shopping Supermarket to go to in this area. There is one in Dickson City and one in Wilkes-Barre and they both are great stores. If you feel like a day trip south you can go to the Allentown area Wegmans. I was very impressed with how upscale it was, it made our two stores look quaint and our stores are quite good. For Costco you could try the Sam's club in Wilkes-Barre

[rowhomecity]

Unfortunately NEPA is limited in its shopping. Most things you are looking for will be in the Lehigh Valley. Although I cannot believe they do not have a Trader Joe's. Even State College has a Trader Joe's. To be frank I am surprised Trader Joe's has not put more stores in some of PA's other metros like the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, Lancaster etc. They have a store in State College. It is quite shocking. They all would do VERY WELL.

Even Pittsburgh only has a few. The City of Philadelphia only has ONE. There are quite a few outside the city in the suburbs. But I was told the Trader Joe's in Philadelphia is their highest grossing store per square foot in the nation. And they still have not opened a second store even though the demand is there.

ANYWHO. Point is, NEPA is just not on retailers eyes as a growth market. Lehigh Valley is and unfortunately that is where you would have to go to do the shopping you are looking for.

ALSO. Check out Wegman's. It is a very nice store. It is consistently rated the best grocery store chain in the USA. I prefer it over Whole Foods. TBH.

[jimazee]

Try it, you'll like it.

Two years in a row...