Fourth Starbuck's Coming to Wilkes-Barre (Scranton, Harrisburg: salons, apartment, hotel)

[SteelCityRising]

There was an article in today's Times-Leader about the Wilkes-Barre area getting its fourth Starbuck's very soon. The newest cafe will be moving into the building on South Main Street near Public Square that was vacated when Club Mardi Gras went belly-up a few months ago. This will join the other three locations:

-Inside the Barnes & Noble on South Main Street (across the street from this newest one).
-Along Highland Park Boulevard in the Wilkes-Barre Township Marketplace
-Inside the Barnes & Noble in the Arena Hub Plaza

This new Starbuck's joins an upcoming Thai restaurant just down the street in the Midtown Village complex that will be operated by the same people who own the successful Thai Rak Thai in Downtown Scranton. Just around the corner on Public Square a new restaurant (I believe it is an Italian place) has also just opened. Wilkes-Barre businessman Thom Greco has also announced that he will soon be opening another new mining-themed restaurant along North Main Street near King's College.

Things are starting to look up again for Downtown Wilkes-Barre. In a few years when the riverfront project and Hotel Sterling project are completed, this town will truly be humming along. Couple that with the completion of the intermodal transportation center, restoration of Market Street Square into a visitors' center, transformation of the Irem Temple into an artists' community, continued development of the Northampton & Main mixed-use project, as well as the upcoming rehabilitation of the Murray Complex, and this city will be unrecognizably-vibrant. It stinks that Mayor Leighton didn't try to keep Solid Cactus, a local high-tech firm, in the city limits (it's moving to the suburbs), but there's enough good news now to help counterbalance that.

[poconosmama]

I'm so jealous. Now if we could get some good coffee around Lake Wallenpaupack without having to drive to dickson city or milford I'd be excited!

[FightinPhils]

That sounds like a ridiculous location for a Starbucks seeing that one already exists right across the street in Barnes and Noble.

I didn't know that Club mardi gras went under already. Thats too bad, but it doesn't look like there's much of a demand for upscale bars in Wilkes-Barre. Its a telling tale, though, that the pawn shops and check cashing places are doing a booming business in Wilkes-Barre, as well as bars and beer stores that advertise specials on Natural Ice, Milwaukee's Best, and malt liquor 40oz. Its sad, but the fact is that nicer businesses have a hard time because of the type of people that now inhabit W-B....mainly out-of-towners here to sell drugs or collect welfare.

[WasPA]

Starbucks. I can take it or leave it, but it will be helpful to downtown Wilkes-Barre. As the article stated, the Starbucks within B&N isn't owned by Starbucks.......I think that downtown will begin to succeed. But, it is imperative that those one story units owned by Finlay lose the dark tinted glass. Even when occupied they are lifeless, unattractive and seem temporary. Next is signage. Many signs, large signs, neon signs, clever signs that create the sense of liveliness that downtowns should represent.

The billiards parlor was a good idea...it should have succeeded. Since it closed up in such a short time signifies that something else occurred...poor business calculations? undercapitalized? personal problems that over took the operators capacityto function as a business?

The city needs to get busy on re-using/marketing the old First National bank building that it now owns on Public Square; performance space to complement the Kirby? upscale club combined with gallery? base for an apartment/office tower? Home base for ARTsSpace? There are several possibilties......Planters' Peanut Museum among them....

[danwxman]

Starbucks has a habit of opening up stores very close to existing locations that are out-performing. Considering most Starbucks only have one register, they can get quite busy with long lines during peak times. So it makes sense to open up another one nearby to relieve a busy location. There are two examples of Starbucks literally across the street from each other in the Harrisburg area.

[wilkes-barretruestory]

The Sterling Hotel project has stalled for lack of funds. As another individual on this thread has pointed out, this Starbucks is across the street from another one, and both will not survive. This ain't center city Philly. As someone else already mentioned, several businesses downtown closed this year, and it should be mentioned that several more closed throughout the city. Then there is the fact that Solid Cactus, which brought 200 employees downtown five days a week is gone. How is that going to affect businesses downtown in the next twelve months? Bet that move hits their bottom line.
Corporate-owned Starbucks are parasites, not indicative of true prosperity. At the slightest sign of prosperity, they can come in, set up shop, and grab for the corporation what they can, but they do not need to be successful in the long run. If they are unsuccessful, they are only a small piece of a huge corporation. What we need are the mom and pops that can survive, that is the true sign of a thriving downtown.
And we ain't got that.
So, you going to go get your degree in urban planning, ScrantonWilkesBarre, so next time you will actually make sense when you open up yer trap, or is that you think the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre is cute or what?

[FightinPhils]

A Starbucks is no longer a sign of the area's prosperity. They're popping up like weeds and are about as indicative of an area's prosperity as the opening of a new McDonald's. Starbucks are becoming about as common as McDonald's and Wal-Mart.

[Vinny536]

starbucks is a good move. anything not a bar or tattoo shop to fill a void is a plus. downtown w-b always had a nice feel, just no where to go. there is a lot of history and things to do that most locals never knew existed. i always liked my opportunity to walk around downtown when i lived there, and was very impressed earlier this year when i got to see all the growth.

i love the idea of the mining themed resturaunt! that would certainly be on my list of places to visit when i get back in town. hopefully it will be open by january!

one of the things that i always felt the area needed was to designate historic districts where new construction had to meet architectural design standards of wilkes-barre's past while other areas of the city could embrace the future. the old style buildings are a nice novelty, but who wants to live where everything looks and feels old. the most successful cities are full of new, interesting construction, businesses and more.

the fire at the Murry complex probably raised that property value. hopefully a new successful commercial endeavour will be constructed there, bringing more life to that section of town.

the biggest problem in wilkes-barre is the inhabitants being so focused on failure, avoiding everything new and the unwillingness to step out of their miserable coal miner mentality. if you desire failure, focus on failure and revel in failure surly there will be failure. happiness is a conscious decision.

[JimmyLane]

you report the opening of a Starbucks with wild fanfare, as if to suggest that a fourth Starbucks is just what the area needs to have the town "humming." it's corporate smut, along with all that riverfront development you speak of. oh, but there's an artist community. spare me.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by JimmyLane

you report the opening of a Starbucks with wild fanfare, as if to suggest that a fourth Starbucks is just what the area needs to have the town "humming." it's corporate smut, along with all that riverfront development you speak of. oh, but there's an artist community. spare me.

Originally Posted by wilkes-barretruestory

The Sterling Hotel project has stalled for lack of funds. As another individual on this thread has pointed out, this Starbucks is across the street from another one, and both will not survive. This ain't center city Philly. As someone else already mentioned, several businesses downtown closed this year, and it should be mentioned that several more closed throughout the city. Then there is the fact that Solid Cactus, which brought 200 employees downtown five days a week is gone. How is that going to affect businesses downtown in the next twelve months? Bet that move hits their bottom line.
Corporate-owned Starbucks are parasites, not indicative of true prosperity. At the slightest sign of prosperity, they can come in, set up shop, and grab for the corporation what they can, but they do not need to be successful in the long run. If they are unsuccessful, they are only a small piece of a huge corporation. What we need are the mom and pops that can survive, that is the true sign of a thriving downtown.And we ain't got that.
So, you going to go get your degree in urban planning, ScrantonWilkesBarre, so next time you will actually make sense when you open up yer trap, or is that you think the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre is cute or what?

We have alot of half empty redevelopment pojects here in Scranton as well. The funding is always in place or at least enough to get the design phase done and its usually during or before a election year. It always dries up in the long run and is reappropriated to other projects that take a state or federal level of priority. They are there to wet the breath of the voters and to show nothing more than a glimmer of hope to be elected by. Now starbucks. These types of stores show a indication of growth when they open their first in a region but no more after that, period. They do not indicate that a downtown is growing its more of a indication that the company itself is growing to the point that they are able to open stores in areas of little or no growth for a few years and they will take the loss and move on.
The continuing idea that the growth of a city is based on these little boutiques or stores that have a three year life span is poor planning and really its not along term look at how a city needs to be built up. The tax base needs to grow and that growth can only happen when we have companies that offer a family sustaining wage. When those jobs are in place then the people will have the money needed to be spent to maintain the downtown whether its Wilkes-Barre or Scranton. Here we seem to have those that would pin our future to the number of bars or restaurants that we have in the downtown or doggie boutiques and coffee shops. None of which really offer any kind of family sustaining employment. The turnover is 3 years in and out of business and yes there are a few that have stayed but really nothing that is sustaining much other then itself.
Urban planning in this region is hard and there are alot lumps and bumps along the road but I for one do not see the "urban living" that is being pushed as our savior amounting to anything, unless the area or neighborhoods are up to par and there are actually family sustaining jobs here. Parks and salons do not indicate anything to companies when a city is bleeding residents and money like there is no tomorrow and over taxing its residents to try and pay for these pipe dream projects that will never happen.