WYOMING, Pa. — It's been a few months since Hazel Pepe and her husband Jimmy said goodbye to their video store and gift shop on Wyoming Ave in Wyoming. It was something she tells Newswatch 16 wasn't easy.
"It was heartbreaking," said Hazel. "To see all your work involved in it and your money involved in it, and see the people being happy carry that stuff out made me feel pretty good, but it was like they say bittersweet."
The building has been sold and is home to new tenants. On the video store side, there's Well-Nurtured Development and Lingua, LLC.
"Occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy specifically, but we service families with children with all abilities. We have specialties like breastfeeding support, pre and postnatal education, infant massage," explained Mary Vanesko about the different services she and Chelsea Zimmerman offer here.
The gift shop side is now home to Parenting Autism United.
"We provide support for families who already have a diagnosis or are waiting for one or just would like to be more involved, and we have programs for individuals of all ages of all abilities," explained Lindsay Dragon of PAU.
The Pepes called this their home-away-from-home for more than 40 years.
Pieces of the video and gift shops can still be found being put to good use throughout the businesses, from lighting to shelving and even surveillance.
"It's homey here, and I'm glad that they're going to be here, and we feel comfortable coming back here like they invited us, and I thought that was awesome," said Hazel.
But more importantly, Hazel says she loves the missions at work here to continue her passion for community support.
"My mother used to work with special-needs kids. And I said my mother would be so thrilled that you're here. You know this really would trigger my mother's heart. I believe she's in here. She's in her watching and how nice it is," added Hazel.
If you want to learn more about the new tenants, clicking on their business names below will take you to their respective websites.
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