POTTSVILLE, Pa. — From the outside, you can admire the 1800s-style architecture. Inside those walls, it's all skin and bones right now, but Joseph Drasdis has a plan.
"We saw a market that was untapped," Joseph Drasdis, owner of Drasdis and Son, said. "We have a lot of doctors, lawyers, the courthouse is in town, a lot of businesspeople. We decided it was a little different than what everyone else was doing. So I'm giving a little different product than what you can find at a Boscov's or any of those big box stores."
Soon, this storefront that's been empty on the corner of West Market and North Second Streets for years will become Drasdis & Son, a specialty men's boutique that will sell high-end dress clothes.
For months, Drasdis and his father have put in countless hours of work to completely gut and re-do the store all by themselves.
"It was kind of fun, a father-son project to come in here and work on it," Drasdis added.
Over the last couple of years, Drasdis has been heavily involved in Pottsville's revitalization efforts. He hopes his store can ride that momentum as the city ushers in what it hopes is a new era with a bright future.
"If people see that a retail store like this can work, then other people will step up and open up more retail," Drasdis continued.
The pandemic did delay some construction, so Drasdis hopes to have the store up and running by late fall or early winter. You can check out the store's Facebook page here.