web1_Walsh1.jpg

Our Opinion: Live music plentiful in NEPA; don’t miss a beat this concert season

letter-to-editor-opinion.png

Letter to the Editor: Pharmaceutical industry key to solving state’s heroin crisis

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The largest store in Wilkes-Barre will soon boast new lights, fixtures and carpets as part of an extensive store reboot.</p><p>Albert Boscov, chairman and chief executive officer of the Boscov&#8217;s Department Stores, has been working on remodeling the store for the past year.</p><p>&#8220;(Boscov has spent) over $1 million (to remodel),&#8221; Curt Snyder, senior vice president of visual merchandise and store planning, said.</p><p>The remodel includes moving several departments around different floors and expanding others. The first-floor shoe department has made it&#8217;s way up the escalator to the second floor. To make room for shoes, the children&#8217;s department has found it&#8217;s way to the basement level. The separate departmental fitting rooms have been centralized in the middle of the first floor.</p><p>&#8220;Anytime you work on a multilevel store, moving is (the hardest part),&#8221; Snyder said as he put together ballet bars for the misses department on the first floor.</p><p>The second-floor lingerie department and the first-floor handbags and accessories department have expanded.</p><p>&#8220;All soft lines have been redone and expanded,&#8221; Snyder said adding that the remodeled store will be on par with the other stores in the 44-store company.</p><p>On Sunday, June 5, Boscov will be in Wilkes-Barre for a grand re-opening of the store. Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George will be hand for a proclamation.</p><p>George called the store an &#8220;asset&#8221; in an email to the Times Leader on Wednesday.</p><p>&#8220;I admire and commend Mr. Al Boscov for his dedication to the city,&#8221; George said. &#8220;Mr. Boscov has never forgotten where his roots began.&#8221;</p><p>According to Irene Kelly, Boscov&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre public relations manager, the store will be bustling with events.</p><p>&#8220;The Wyoming Valley Pipe and Drum Band will be outside (at the reopening) with Mr. Boscov,&#8221; Kelly said.</p><p>The store will also will conduct food tastings and basket raffles to benefit the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. Pat &#8220;the greatest clown in the Northeast&#8221; Ward and Fun Faces by Louis will also be on hand to entertain children.</p><p>George said that when he began as a Wilkes-Barre city police officer, his first beat was South Main Street, where he met Boscov employees. At Boscov&#8217;s, their employees are the heart of their store, they employ 132, with most being there longer than 10 years.</p><p>For cosmetic department manager Annie Kravitz, the store&#8217;s remodel is &#8220;major.&#8221; Kravitz remembers being hired in August 1980 by Boscov&#8217;s sister.</p><p>&#8220;We needed it,&#8221; Kravitz said, beaming as she worked around her department which was still being updated.</p><p>An employee since November 2015, bridal consultant Amanda Campbell used to do &#8220;lunch with my grandmother&#8221; at Boscov&#8217;s. She applied for a job because it was &#8220;close and convenient.&#8221;</p><p>Both Campbell and Kravitz agree the remodel, which isn&#8217;t completely finished, is &#8220;beautiful.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We will keep updating things through the fall,&#8221; Snyder said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL112514boscovsMainbar3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Boscovs Store Manager Ryan Thomas talks with department managers during a meeting to get ready for Black Friday 2014. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_TTL112514boscovsMainbar3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Boscovs Store Manager Ryan Thomas talks with department managers during a meeting to get ready for Black Friday 2014. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>The grand reopening will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 5.</p><p>According to a media release, special events and sales will continue for three weeks after the grand reopening.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Boscov’s gets ready for a grand reopening June 5