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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; On the eve of the South Carolina presidential primary, Donald Trump looked a bit stiff. So did Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders, too.</p><p>The clutch of candidates on display at Wet Paint Printing + Design were made that way. Their life-size carboard cutouts are big sellers for the Horton Street-based business that opened its doors Friday for a grand reopening.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s 90 percent of our income,&#8221; said owner Steve Taren.</p><p>Taren moved his business to the vacant and stripped factory building about a year and half ago from a short distance away on Waller Street. With more space to work with, he expanded his product line to include vehicle wraps and signage. The cutouts have been a mainstay, however.</p><p>Mixed in with the candidates were a smiling President Barack Obama, a waving Pope Francis and a jumpsuited David Bowie from his glam rock days. Invitees to the party posed with one of their choosing.</p><p>&#8220;We do custom and historical cutouts,&#8221; Taren, 58, said. The national company has customers all over the country.</p><p>&#8220;And here&#8217;s the thing, we could be anywhere in the world. We could be anywhere in the country and sell this because it&#8217;s really all on Internet,&#8221; Taren said. &#8220;We actually want to be in South Wilkes-Barre. I was born here. I went to Lafayette Elementary. I was raised here and my company&#8217;s always been here.&#8221;</p><p>It was the perfect pitch for the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce that promoted the event and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George who stopped by for a look inside.</p><p>&#8220;I think he did a great job,&#8221; George said.</p><p>George remembered when Modern Floor was located at the spot.</p><p>The place was empty when Taren moved in.</p><p>&#8220;It was abandoned. It was just plaster and I had to start over,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The city at first came on &#8220;like gangbusters&#8221; when it came to code enforcement, but they backed off, Taren acknowledged.</p><p>&#8220;And I have to give Bill Harris (director of planning and zoning) a lot of credit over at City Hall because they said, &#8216;Listen, OK, get it going. We don&#8217;t want to shut you down.&#8217; I put money in the building,&#8221; Taren said.</p><p>He renovated the outside, too, having the exterior painted in bold colors and designs.</p><p>The renovations and the relocation have been good for business. Taren has doubled his workforce to 16 people and said he can sense an energy inside.</p><p>Neighboring businesses Abe&#8217;s Hot Dogs, Gerry&#8217;s Pizzeria, Schiel&#8217;s Family Market and CrisNics Irish Pub joined in the celebration and brought food and drinks.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re all local people trying to, I&#8217;m not going to say survive in South Wilkes, flourish,&#8221; Taren said.</p><p>Gerald Ricci, owner of Gerry&#8217;s Pizzeria on the corner of Horton Street and Carey Avenue, mingled with the crowd and stopped to watch employees apply a wrap to a Wet Paint van.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an enormous building,&#8221; Ricci said.</p><p>He marveled at the transformation that&#8217;s taken place a few blocks from the pizzeria he&#8217;s owned since 1981. &#8220;This breathes new life into it,&#8221; Ricci said.</p><p>Changes are in store at his business, he added. &#8220;I&#8217;m actually going to be making a big investment in my place,&#8221; Ricci said.</p><p>He acquired the property next to his and had it demolished. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to expand my dining room and baking area,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wet Paint Printing + Design hosted a party for South Wilkes-Barre Friday afternoon attended by Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George, members of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and local business owners. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022016SWBParty2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wet Paint Printing + Design hosted a party for South Wilkes-Barre Friday afternoon attended by Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George, members of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and local business owners. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden |Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022016SWBParty1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">With cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson nearby, John Maday, of the Riverfront Parks Committee, talks with attendees of a party hosted by Wet Paint Printing + Design on Horton Street, Wilkes-Barre Friday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_TTL022016SWBParty1.jpg</photo1><caption1>With cardboard cutouts of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Ben Carson nearby, John Maday, of the Riverfront Parks Committee, talks with attendees of a party hosted by Wet Paint Printing + Design on Horton Street, Wilkes-Barre Friday afternoon. </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden |Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wet Paint Printing + Design welcomes neighbors to grand reopening of new building on Horton Street in Wilkes-Barre