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<p>The 25th Hour is returning to The Woodlands, and people are excited about it. The upcoming reestablishment of one of Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s most popular social scenes decades ago is gathering hype through word of mouth, and it is attracting a demographic of people who went to the club during its original 20-year tenure between 1978 and 1999.</p><p>On Nov. 6, 25th Hour will reopen its door, starting a trend of catering to the sensibilities of people who came of age throughout the late &#8217;70s, &#8217;80s and &#8217;90s. Every Friday, the dance club, renovated to resemble the appearance of the original space, will feature music from that spectrum of years and will attempt to recreate a familiar environment comfortable to many throughout the region.</p><p>Mitch Kornfeld is the third generation of his family to be in the hospitality industry and the second generation to run The Woodlands since his father and uncle opened it in 1969. The 51-year-old food and beverage director began working at the inn in 1980, and he spoke about the inspiration behind bringing back the 25th Hour.</p><p>&#8220;We did the Baby Boomers happy hour here &#8230; and it was such a success, and we got such a loyal crowd and it was the 40 and older crowd.&#8221; Kornfeld said. &#8220;I listened to my customers; I listened to my guests, and everyone was telling me &#8216;We miss the 25th Hour.&#8217; That was the true motivation &#8230; they wanted it. Here it is.&#8221;</p><p>Kornfeld is calling the revamped scene a place where the 40 plus crowd can socialize in an atmosphere they prefer.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing the response we&#8217;re getting,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Everywhere I go, people are stopping me and actually thanking me that we&#8217;re bringing it back, so we didn&#8217;t even do it yet and we&#8217;re getting positive feedback.&#8221;</p><p>Mike Siconolfi was hired as the club&#8217;s DJ in 1988, and he has worked with the Woodlands ever since. DJ Godfather, as he is called behind the turntables, will return as the house entertainer when the place is relaunched, and he has fond memories of the past as well as high hopes for the future.</p><p>&#8220;The 25th Hour was, in the &#8217;80s and &#8217;90s, the trendsetter,&#8221; Siconolfi said. &#8220;It was the Facebook of the time. You wanted to know what was going on in fashion, gossip, who was dating who, who looked good, who was single, you would go to the 25th Hour.&#8221;</p><p>Siconolfi, now 53, said the reopening will bring people the type of euphoria they experience at a class reunion.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody 45 and older has some sort of connection with the 25th Hour &#8230; connecting the good old days, the fun times, and people get attracted to that,&#8221; Siconolfi said. &#8220;We&#8217;re bringing back the big silver poles. We&#8217;re creating that atmosphere with some of the lighting and the trussing. The room&#8217;s going to be wallpapered with photos of the original club.&#8221;</p><p>In addition, Siconolfi said he plans to be a reflection of the people on the dance floor, periodically changing the music so that all club goers will want to dance. He said he&#8217;ll start with the disco of the late &#8217;70s and progress through the &#8217;80s and &#8217;90s as the night advances.</p><p>Joe Kuntz of Scranton has been a patron of the Woodlands since before the original 25th Hour opened.</p><p>&#8220;In its day it was the happening place to be,&#8221; Kuntz said. &#8220;If you were anybody, you were at the Woodlands, and it was a great time had by all. I&#8217;ve met a lot of very good people, a lot of very good friends out of there.&#8221;</p><p>The 56-year-old said he will definitely check out the scene.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be interesting to see how it takes off,&#8221; Kuntz said. I know it&#8217;s going to bring back a lot of memories.&#8221;</p><p>Karen Wren, a Dallas native who now resides in Columbia, South Carolina, was a frequent patron of the 25th Hour from 1986 to 2002.</p><p>&#8220;It was literally the time of our lives, Wren said. &#8220;It was the place to go to. We would get all dressed up. I mean, it was a really big deal when we were younger. If you were anybody, that&#8217;s where you wanted to be on a Friday night.&#8221;</p><p>The 50-year-old said if she was back in town she would call old friends to join her at the 25th Hour.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like bringing back my glory days. It takes me back to my 20s and 30s, and right now at my age, that is just fabulous to have that back again.&#8221;</p><p>Sue Joyce was an employee of 25th Hour from 1986 to 1991, and she recalled the hoards of people who would pile in.</p><p>&#8220;It was crazy,&#8221; Joyce said. &#8220;You&#8217;re talking for as small as that place was, the numbers were anywhere from 900 to 1,200 people. There were at least three deep at the bar. There were a lot of people in that place, and they were very loyal people. They came like clockwork every Friday or Saturday.&#8221;</p><p>Joyce said she hopes the reopening is a success, adding that owners, employees and patrons have held on to a bond from those early days.</p><p>&#8220;The funniest point to this day is a lot of us are still friends from that period,&#8221; Joyce said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A chair painted to look like Sammy Davis Jr. sits outside the entrance to the 25th Hour in April of 1989. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour36.jpg</photo0><caption0>A chair painted to look like Sammy Davis Jr. sits outside the entrance to the 25th Hour in April of 1989. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour46.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A crowd fills the dance floor of the 25th Hour over the Thanksgiving holiday in the early &#8217;90s. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour46.jpg</photo1><caption1>A crowd fills the dance floor of the 25th Hour over the Thanksgiving holiday in the early &#8217;90s. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour26.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left: DJ and light tech David Petrilla, Mike &#8220;DJ Godfather&#8221; Siconolfi and DJ Matt McCann stand in the DJ booth in front of the wall of monitors in the 25th Hour during Siconolfi&#8217;s first stint as the house DJ. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour26.jpg</photo2><caption2>From left: DJ and light tech David Petrilla, Mike &#8220;DJ Godfather&#8221; Siconolfi and DJ Matt McCann stand in the DJ booth in front of the wall of monitors in the 25th Hour during Siconolfi&#8217;s first stint as the house DJ. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photos </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour16.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Hour16.jpg</photo3><caption3></caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photos </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Owners, patrons and employees all anticipating comeback of popular night club</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>For 25th Hour information follow the 25th Hour Nightclub Facebook page.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or <a href="mailto:mmattei@www.timesleader.com">mmattei@www.timesleader.com</a></p></shirttailMeta></div>

Reopening of the 25th Hour at The Woodlands in Wilkes-Barre generates buzz from former patrons, employees