First Posted: 3/5/2014
A café. A cosmetics store. A Mexican eatery. A bakery.
These are four new businesses that are set to open within the next few months in Downtown Pittston, said Main Street Manager Rose Randazzo.
She said the downtown has become so popular, she’s been having trouble finding space for new retailers and restaurants wanting a home in the already bustling business district.
“That says we took a chance in the downtown and and it paid off,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing in this economy. People want to move away from the mall. They want the unique shopping experience that out downtown offers.”
Four new businesses include Mexican restaurant Casa Maya’s, Callahan’s Café and Coffee House, cosmetics chain Merle Norman and a yet to be named bakery.
Callahan’s on Main
Callahan’s Café and Coffee House is set to open in a few weeks and will replace the Coffee Table Café, which closed in December of 2012.
Local chef Michael Callahan gutted the facility, did a floor to ceiling remodel and installed a full kitchen.
“I’m very excited to be opening up in Pittston,” Callahan said. “With everything going on, I hope we’ll add to the flavor of the downtown.”
The café will offer a limited, rotating breakfast menu with daily specials, and will offer muffins, danish, scones, Belgian waffles and breakfast sandwiches. Also a full menu for lunch will include soups, sandwiches and desserts, such as cheesecake, Callahan said. The café will be open some evenings as a coffee house and for private parties.
The full coffee bar will feature three private labels by Electric City Roast, including regular, decaffeinated and a bold roast. Special rotating roasts will be featured as well. Cappuccinos, espressos, teas and similar drinks will available.
Callahan’s father, Dr. John F. Callahan, has served the residents of Pittston and the surrounding area over 40 years. One of his medical offices is directly across from the new restaurant. “I can only dream of being as successful as my dad is in Pittston,” the younger Callahan said in a past interview.
A 1998 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Callahan also operates a catering service, Catering by Callahan.
Merle Norman
Merle Norman, a national high-end cosmetics retailer, will locate in front part of the DeSpirito building. Virginia Despirito’s Hair Fashions salon will remain in the back part of the building.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1931, Merle Norman Cosmetics is a brand of premium skin care, foundations and color cosmetic products.
Owner Jane Chropowicki said she is excited to move downtown.
“Pittston is the place to be with so many good changes going on,” she said. “We’ll be near Boden and DeSpirito Hair Salon, it’s really a perfect fit for us.”
Chropowicki said Merle Norman has been in Greater Pittston since the 1970s and she’s owned the studio since the 1990s. The studio was previously in the Pittston Plaza and spent the past 30 years on Laurel Street in Pittston Township. That location will close.
The company’s founder, Merle Nethercutt Norman, was one of the first women in cosmetics and an innovator, empowering other women to be self sufficient business owners. Studios are located throughout the United States, Canada, and in seven countries internationally. Still run by the Nethercutt family, the company manufactures almost all of its products in the United States.
The DeSpirito Building has recently undergone an extensive interior and exterior renovation.
The studio will offer pedicures and facials, in addition to cosmetics and related products.
“The store will work very well with Boden,” Randazzo said. “They go after the same market, the same demographics, female consumers.”
Casa Maya’s
LaBarre’s stationary store will close by May and two businesses will move into the building. Downstairs, the former Wing Zone, will be the home to a new authentic Mexican restaurant called Casa Maya’s.
The entrance will be on Wharf Street, but there will also be an entrance on South Main Street near the LaBarre’s entrance where diners could walk down a short flight of steps into the eatery.
The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner and will feature an outdoor café and room for private parties.
The owner, Reuben Warneros, originally from Mexico, has previously run successful restaurants and food trucks, Randazzo said.
Once LaBarre’s closes, a bakery is planned for the prominent locale on South Main Street. She was unable to reveal the owners because plans are currently being finalized.
Randazzo said her role as Main Street Manager is to bring a variety of goods and services to the downtown. “There should be no reason for anyone to go to a mall,” she said.
She said every mall has a manager and every downtown needs one as well.
“I’m here to help procure and solicit potential tenants and business owners based on the need,” she said.
Randazzo said she’s trying to create a diverse food scene.
“Our goals is to create a restaurant row,” Randazzo said. “We want to have 10 choices of where to eat and we want them to be different types of food.”
She said the new eateries join the city’s already diverse pallet downtown, including Fuji, The Gramercy, Vince’s Pizza, Napoli Pizza, Palazzo 53, Coopers, Harry Jackets, the Magestic and Tomato Bar.
“We’re clean, well lighted and have adequate parking,” Randazzo said. “And when you shop downtown, you’re supporting local merchants.”
