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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; After being closed since before Christmas, Dunkin&rsquo; Donuts on Public Square will reopen on Monday, the owners announced.
				&ldquo;Yes, we are excited to reopen Monday,&rdquo; said owner Michelle Wise. &ldquo;Our hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with take-out only. I appreciate all of the support in getting the word out and we look forward to serving everyone in downtown.&rdquo;
				A sign is posted on the doors that states the store is hiring. The store is currently being cleaned in preparation of Monday&rsquo;s reopening, Wise said.
				Larry Newman, executive director of the Diamond City Partnership, steward of the downtown, said the reopening of Dunkin&rsquo;s location at 39 Public Square is a welcome sign of progress in the effort to restart the downtown economy.
				&ldquo;As vaccinations continue and major employers implement phased returns to offices during the coming months, some of Downtown&rsquo;s storefront businesses are beginning to see improved prospects for walk-in traffic,&rdquo; Newman said. &ldquo;Dunkin&rsquo;s reopening is evidence of that increased confidence.&rdquo;
				In fact, Newman said several different downtown business owners have mentioned that they&rsquo;ve observed a slow but meaningful increase in foot traffic during the last two weeks.
				&ldquo;My understanding is that Highmark is still targeting July as a date to begin returning to the office, but that if conditions continue to improve, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD is planning to begin voluntary returns to in-office work sooner than that &mdash; perhaps even within the next month.&rdquo;
				However, Newman said he doesn&rsquo;t expect that any of Downtown&rsquo;s major employers will be returning to their full pre-pandemic in-office capacity any time soon.
				&ldquo;To be sure, we&rsquo;ve still got a long way to go, but in the meantime, we&rsquo;re very happy that Dunkin&rsquo; has made the decision to reopen its doors on Public Square,&rdquo; Newman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great news and hopefully a preview of better days to come.&rdquo;
				The last time there was a sign on the door of the coffee shop&rsquo;s downtown location, it was to announce it was closing temporarily.
				&ldquo;We regret to inform you that we are temporarily closing the Public Square location due to current economic conditions,&rdquo; the sign read in December. &ldquo;It is our goal to open as soon as the current climate improves.&rdquo;
				When the store closed in December, Newman said that, while he was not surprised, given the changing dynamics of downtown Wilkes-Barre due to the pandemic.
				&ldquo;The result of the current public health orders is that there are thousands and thousands of office workers missing who would normally be there on a weekday,&rdquo; Newman said, estimating that there were about 3,000 fewer office workers downtown than there would be in normal times.
				&ldquo;Those people formed a major part of the patronage of the restaurants and stores downtown,&rdquo; Newman went on.

Dunkin’ Donuts on Public Square to reopen Monday