Jason Sabatelle, of Sabatelle’s Market, Pittston, prepares a pan of food for a customer on Monday after the market was shut down for 77 days due to smoke and water damage from a major fire next door on Dec. 23, 2024.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Sabatelle’s Market reopens after damage from next-door fire
Art Valli, longtime friend and customer of Sabatelle’s Market, came bearing gifts for Jane Sabatelle on Monday when the market reopened after taking on smoke and water damage from the fire next door on Dec. 23, 2024.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Business has been steady since Sabatelle’s Market, Pittston reopened on Monday after taking on smoke and water damage from a devastating fire next door on Dec. 23. 2024.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The shelves at Sabatelle’s Market, 114 S. Main St., Pittston, have been stocked and the doors reopened for business after being closed for 77 days due to smoke and water damage from a fire next door.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Sabatelle’s Market building to the right, reopened their doors on Monday after being closed for clean up from smoke and water damage incurred from the fire next door on December 23, 2024. The former Ann Frocks building is being gutted since the fire.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
PITTSTON — It’s been 77 long days since Dec. 23, 2024, especially if your business has been down due to smoke and water damage from a fire next door, but for Jason Sabatelle, he’s glad he can put this disaster behind him now that Sabatelle’s Market has officially reopened on Monday morning.
Sabatelle’s Market has been one of the City of Pittston’s main staples for 50-years where you can find the best imported meats and cheeses along with Italian delicacies such as cannoli and other desserts.
People from all over Greater Pittston and Northeastern Pennsylvania make the pilgrimage to Sabatelle’s for all of the reasons above so for Jason, it was not only imperative to get the Pittston landmark reopened as soon as possible but to also get the four displaced families living in the apartments above the market back into their residences.
Jane Sabatelle, Jason’s mother, said since they reopened at 8 a.m. on Monday, it was non-stop with walk-in business.
Initially upon opening, the phone system being down until 11 a.m., but once service was restored, the phone began to ring off the hook.
“What’s really impressed me with the people from Pittston and all around, I was getting cards, letters, money from customers, saying ‘You’re the face of Pittston, please come back,’” Jane said. “We had no intentions of not coming back, but there was a rumor out there that we were going to close.”
Jane said as soon as they got the all clear to get back in the building, the work began to clear the market of spoiled food and other perishables and to start the clean up.
According to Jason, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food, equipment, and other items had to be thrown out including all of the Christmas prepared foods and orders two-days before the holiday when the fire broke out.
“The busiest day of the year and I mean the busiest day is December 23 and all those people that had ordered filet mignon and rib roasts for Christmas Eve, they wouldn’t let us in the building, everything was lost,” Jason said. “Once I got back in, the smoke was so bad and the smell was in everything.”
Jason added the clean up was extensive once shelved items and food was thrown out. A cleaning and restoration team was brought in to clean ever inch of the market before new stock was reordered.
“We have an all new ceiling, all the shelves were cleaned by ServPro, our floor had to be all cleaned, stripped and waxed, and all the walls had to be painted — we just cleaned and cleaned and cleaned.”
The Sabatelles were insured and a great deal of the clean up was recovered with their policy.
Jane and Jason give credit to the City of Pittston Fire Department for saving their building with just a few feet separating the two structures.
“We are lucky our building isn’t a wooden structure or it would have been completely destroyed,” Jane added.
Terry Timonte, of Shavertown, stopped by Sabatelle’s on Monday morning. Timonte is a regular and looked forward to the market reopening.
“I usually get here every two weeks,” Timonte admitted. “I usually get the Lonza hoagies and they have the best-breaded haddock around and even their cheeses, we get their grated cheeses they’re delicious. Today I’m getting two hoagies, one for tonight for work and one for tomorrow, they are that good.”
Even though being a part of a family business is a 52-week job, Jason said he did enjoy the unplanned break, but he was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and with Easter approaching, he and his crew will be getting hams and Easter Pizzas prepared.
“Easter Pizza is going to be big this year and we just have to keep on rolling,” Jason said.
