x
Breaking News
More () »

Boscov's restaurants close for good

Sad news for shoppers at one department store, another permanent closure due to COVID-19 shutdown orders.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The restaurant inside Boscov's department store in Wilkes-Barre had been closed for weeks due to Governor Wolf's recent ban on indoor dining.  

That ban has now been lifted, but the restaurant will never reopen.

"It's very sad that it is closing and they had the best burgers in town, they really did. And I'm sure it will be missed by a lot of people," said Tina Hampel of Wilkes-Barre.

"It's sad because it was a resting place for people to come sit, eat, have conversation, do their shopping. Now when you go in there, you're not going to have anywhere to sit and eat at, you're going to have to leave and find something else. And it has a little bit of memory and history to it," said Thomas Acevedo of Wilkes-Barre.

"It sucks really because I used to eat there at times. I would bring my mother here and eat. Every time we came back from the doctor's or something, we would go there and eat," said Erik Vince of Wilkes-Barre.

All 6 restaurants at Boscov's stores will close permanently. The location inside the Pottsville store is open right now and will shut down at the end of the month.

CEO Jim Boscov tells Newswatch 16 that closing the restaurants was an emotional decision, but one that was clear from a business perspective. The restaurant closure is due to the COVID-19 shutdown orders, but Boscov said over the phone that the company itself is doing well.

Restaurants inside department stores used to be a lot more common; customers we spoke to say this closure seems like further proof that they're becoming a thing of the past.

"This was one of the only department stores that has an eat-in," said William Bewley of Plymouth.

"It's just going to box us in more. We're not gonna have anything left," said Acevedo.

Boscov says the restaurant spaces will be used for something else.

Before You Leave, Check This Out