Is Downtown Wilkes-Barre becoming a true “foodie” destination?
The recent addition of three new restaurants that offer “experience dining” to the city’s restaurant landscape, a fourth soon-to-open eatery, and a continually growing diversity in cuisine in the Downtown would seem to suggest as much.
Shinjiru, an Asian restaurant specializing in ramen dishes, opened in Midtown Village on South Main Street in June. Adelina’s, a modern Italian restaurant and pizzeria, opened inside Gus Genetti’s Best Western Plus on East Market Street in August. Margarita Urban Beer and Cocktail Garden opened at 9 E. Bennett Court, also in August.
Hamam the Best Dough Show, a restaurant featuring Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine, is poised to open in the former Chill Grill at 100 Pennsylvania Avenue, likely within the next month.
The restaurateurs feel confident about their investments because of their offerings and the available customer base.
“We believe our food can satisfy the customer, especially the ramen eater, because we have good, good experience, good knowledge about the ramen. We have a good chef to make the authentic ramen. That’s number one. Number two, we pay attention to the service to our customer,” Shinjiru manager Steven Lee said.
“So far, thank God, even though we are just open for three months, we got our regular customers already. And so far, they like us. Thank God for the support from the neighborhood,” Lee added.
From left: Sam Son, Ratna Tan, and Steven Lee of Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A plate of Japanese nori spiced fries, left, and a plate of crispy rice tuna from Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The interior dining area of Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A bowl of Osaka seafood ramen from Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The interior dining area of Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A salmon teriyaki bento box from Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A plate of Japanese nori spiced fries, foreground, and a plate of crispy rice tuna from Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A bowl of sapporo garlic butter ramen from Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 8
From left: Sam Son, Ratna Tan, and Steven Lee of Shinjiru Ramen in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Expand
Lee said the most popular dishes at the restaurant, which also has a location in Tannersville, are the crispy rice spicy tuna appetizer and the gyudon bowl, a marinated sliced beef and caramelized onion over rice.
The restaurant, which is located in the former Boozy B’s, also offers a full bar and specials, including a 10% discount for college students.
Turkish delight
On the north side of Downtown, partners Ahmed Badran and Ahmed Hamam expect to open Hamam the Best Dough Show within about a month.
Badran says the menu will feature a mix of Mediterranean, Turkish and Italian food, and they’ll also serve an American-style breakfast when they open at 6 a.m.
They’ve imported an oven and granite countertops from Egypt and furniture from China to give the venue an authentic Mediterranean atmosphere, he said.
Ahmed Badran points to the ‘Hamam,’ engraved on his oven at ‘Hamam the Best Dough Show’ in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Ahmed Badran leans on a ‘Hamam,’ engraved oven at ‘Hamam the Best Dough Show’ in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 2
Ahmed Badran points to the ‘Hamam,’ engraved on his oven at ‘Hamam the Best Dough Show’ in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Expand
Badran ran restaurants in New York and Florida, but he decided to move to the Northeast about nine years ago. Living in Scranton, he’s been working to save up money with the intent of opening a restaurant here, and decided Wilkes-Barre’s restaurant scene could use a Mediterranean and Turkish addition.
“There’s a space for it here. And the people are really nice,” he said.
Modern Italian
Paige Cesar, a co-owner of Adelina’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, said the owners chose to open a new location in Downtown Wilkes-Barre at least temporarily following a fire that destroyed the original restaurant in Mountain Top.
“We really wanted to get our staff back to work and keep our customers happy in the meantime as we rebuild in Mountain Top,” Cesar said.
Why in downtown Wilkes-Barre?
“There’s a lot of foot traffic here, a lot of people looking for more, like, fancy dining experiences. There’s a lot of people going to the Kirby Center with a lot of events. A lot of people come before they go to their shows and whatnot. And there’s a lot of awesome restaurants down here as well, so people are always down here looking for somewhere to eat,” Cesar said.
The interior dining area of Adelina’s in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A Tuscan shrimp and scallops special from Adelina’s in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The interior dining area of Adelina’s in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A Tuscan shrimp and scallops special from Adelina’s in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The entrance to Adelina’s in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. The owners will close the temporary site March 14 and move back to the previous location in Mountain Top which has been rebuilt after a May 2025 fire. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 5
The interior dining area of Adelina’s in Wilkes-Barre. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Expand
She believes the restaurant’s menu variety and atmosphere attract and impress customers, and good customer service keeps them coming back.
“We do wing night, prime rib night, pasta night, we’re really big on seafood, it’s really fresh and delicious. And our staff is wonderful. We get compliments on that all the time. It’s like a fancy dining experience a little bit different from everything else you see. We have a nice bar, cocktails, stuff like that,” Cesar said.
Outdoor dining like in Italy
A couple blocks away, just off North Main Street, local restaurateur and promoter Thom Greco opened a seasonal outdoor food and beverage venue for a test run.
Named for the adjacent building that once housed the former Margarita apartments that provided off-campus housing for King’s College students, Margarita Urban Beer and Cocktail Garden is designed to give patrons the feeling of eating outdoors in Italy, Greco said.
Greco made his mark on the Downtown Wilkes-Barre nightlife scene over the last few decades by opening and running venues such as The Station at Market Street Square, Banana Joe’s, Martini’s Restaurant and, most recently, The Mines in Wilkes-Barre.
“I’m always trying to bring a new mix of arts, entertainment and environment, a type of positive, better lifestyle to our area. We’ve done that through the amphitheaters and shows, concerts in a lot of different nightclubs and restaurants,” Greco said.
And while he believes the city has seen lost opportunities over the years, he still has faith in its potential. His newest idea came from his travels.
“A lot of our folks travel, and they always wonder, ‘Why don’t we have this at home?’ So, we’ve always tried to be on the cutting edge to be able to bring stuff to our community,” Greco said. “When I traveled, I really enjoyed outdoor dining in a casual environment, but with a very unique setting as well as theme.”
Thom Greco at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The outdoor seating at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A pizza made in a wood-fired pizza oven flown from Naples, Italy, at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Chef Peter Adams makes a pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven flown from Naples, Italy, at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Thom Greco outside Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Thom Greco leans on a wood-fired pizza oven flown from Naples, Italy, at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 6
Thom Greco at Margarita Beer Garden in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Expand
“So, we created an oasis, or garden in the middle of the city, with flowers and trees and a tent. And what we wanted to build with the cobblestone brick that’s there was the sense that you were in Sicily or Italy dining outside, and it’s located in the middle of the city,” he said.
Greco said he was looking to maximize use of his property in which The Mines nightclub is located, so he used the parking lot as the venue for Margarita. But, he’s making new investments as well, importing a wood-fired oven from Sicily to bake his award-winning wood-fired pizzas.
He’s hired one of the best chefs in the area, Peter Adams, who has been with him through many of his restaurant concepts. Patrons can watch the pizzas being created, from the stretching of the dough to the saucing and cheesing and baking.
Greco noted that people assume the restaurant’s drink menu features margaritas because of the name, so he bought the best frozen margarita maker he could find, as not to disappoint. In addition to cocktails, the venue serves eight hand-crafted beers – of the Oktoberfest variety through October.
And the décor in the garden was designed to make it a memorable experience for patrons as well, he said.
“That’s kind of what we did to try to create an experience, something memorable. Whether it’s the wow factor when you first walk in, or whether it’s the experience itself, it’s something that creates memories, and that’s one of the things we’re in business for. We’re in business to create memories,” Greco said.
“So, this year is kind of getting our footing. We’re trying to find our way as to where we fit with demographics, and what are the hits and what are the misses. And then next spring, when we reopen, we’ll be open (five months) before the time we close by the end of October,” he said.
A part of revitalization
A vibrant dining scene is a key piece of the puzzle for a revitalized, walkable and livable city center.
Larry Newman, executive director of Diamond City Partnership, Wilkes-Barre’s downtown management organization, said the downtown food and beverage industry “has really been the most dynamic part of the Downtown storefront economy for a while now.”
This “night-time economy” has been driven by a couple of factors — substantial visitor draws by the F.M. Kirby Center and Movies 14, as well as the downtown presence of King’s College and Wilkes University, Newman said.
“These things have all contributed to a night-time food and beverage scene that is particularly attractive to these types of restaurants,” he said.
The Downtown has also been adapting to changes forced upon it by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2020, the downtown economy was largely driven by office employees. Now, more employees work from home.
DCP, which tracks Downtown visitation, found that employee visits in 2024 were only 65% of the total number of employee visits in 2019. Non-employee visits, which include restaurant visits, people coming to shop or for any reason other than work, were at 85% of 2019 numbers.
Larry Newman, executive director of Diamond City Partnership, says Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s dining scene has returned to seeing a net growth after a net loss attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Citizens’ Voice file)
So, while non-employee visits have declined since the pandemic, they’ve bounced back much more strongly than employee visits, Newman said.
“And if you look at the night-time economy in downtown, particularly when you look at people coming downtown on weeknights, what’s interesting is that it’s only 10% off of where we were pre-pandemic,” Newman said.
That visitation is being led by people coming downtown to have a meal or dinner and a show, whether it’s at the Kirby Center, one of the colleges or another venue, he said.
City-sponsored events such as the Farmers Market and free summer concerts on Public Square also drive traffic that results in spikes in restaurant visitation, he said.
“It’s not particularly surprising, but it’s all part of that entertainment economy, and dining is a part of that. People want to try different things; they want to have new experiences. And so, I think that right now, we are adding restaurants at a pretty nice clip.”
A Downtown resurgence
Newman said there are now 46 food-and-beverage venues within the boundaries of the Downtown Business District, which is still lower than the pre-pandemic count of about 50.
“There’s no question that Downtown Wilkes-Barre was knocked on its behind by the pandemic,” Newman said. “But, what we are seeing is a dramatic increase in the number of occupied storefronts and new businesses in Downtown.”
Between 2005 and 2020, the Downtown had a net increase of more than 50 new businesses — 50 more businesses opening than closing. Then, in the first three years post-pandemic, the Downtown had a negative net growth in businesses, Newman said.
“Now, we’re back to net positive growth again. For example, in 2024, we had a net increase of seven new businesses in Downtown,” he said.
What’s behind that growth?
“I think what we’re seeing is a resurgence in interest,” Newman said.
“We’ve got an average daily population in Downtown over the last 12 months of almost 16,000 people … just in this 16-block area. That’s the people who live in Downtown, the people who work downtown, the people who go to college downtown, the people who are visiting to shop or go to a medical or dental appointment or a show. It’s a lot of people, a very dense, concentrated population, and there are opportunities to be able to build a customer base off of that,” he said.
The mayor’s take
Mayor George C. Brown said he’s delighted by the growing diversity in the city restaurant scene and in the city as a whole. He called the growth “amazing.”
“I go to lunch in the city every day. I could go to a different restaurant every day for two months and not go back to the same restaurant twice,” Brown said.
He attributes the growth in the restaurant scene to Wilkes-Barre being a college town and to the city’s increasingly positive reputation, which he said is being spread by word of mouth as well as through marketing.
“You have Kings and Wilkes, and they’re so close together, with Public Square in the middle of those two campuses, and this is where the restaurant district is,” Brown said.
He also noted that two years ago, he hired a company to produce a marketing website and marketing videos for the city that have been broadcast throughout Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. And, he said, the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Diamond City Partnership also do tremendous marketing work.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown speaks during an announcement and signing ceremony at Wilkes-Barre City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. Brown believes the city’s Downtown along with its restaurant scene and the city as a whole will continue its growth. (The Citizens’ Voice file))
“I think the other thing is, (investors) listen to other businesses,” Brown said.
He pointed to respected businessmen such as New York developer Shimon Friedman and Scranton developer John Basalyga investing millions of dollars in housing and commercial projects in the Downtown as well as other areas of the city in recent years.
“We estimate about 55,000 people living in the city now. It’s growing every year. People are coming in and they’re buying old properties and remodeling them and making them beautiful homes, not to rent out, but to live it. I see that and I see different neighborhoods where the housing prices are going up when you look at property sales. And it’s a great surprise to see that,” he said.
Brown anticipates continued growth downtown as conversions of offices into residential space continue, Sphere International builds multi-family residential units from the ground up at East Northampton and South Main streets, and developer Sam Syla converts the former Martz office building on Public Square into a hotel and conference center.
“There are going to be more and more businesses opening up when that hotel opens up — different stores, different restaurants. And we’re going to market that convention center in beautiful Downtown Wilkes-Barre on Public Square, with a fine dining restaurant in the same building, but also, all the different ethnicity in our restaurants downtown, all the different types of food that they can get before or after their convention,” Brown said.
He noted the Downtown is already a diverse neighborhood, with a significant senior citizen population both in Provincial Towers and the higher-end apartments and suites that now occupy former office space. And he vowed to convince a developer to open a grocery store, hopefully with a pharmacy, in the downtown to serve that population before he leaves office.
“I’m telling you, I see this blowing up in a very good way,” Brown said, “with more investment downtown and continuing growth in the City of Wilkes-Barre.”
Dining and Cooking