News

Grateful Roast Coffee to open in April and continue the rise of Downtown Hazleton

The return of a specialty café to Downtown Hazleton marks the latest in a long line of new businesses and cultural outlets that will open in the downtown in 2019.

Grateful Roast Coffee, a café featuring specialty coffees made with an in-house coffee roaster, will feature - along with its signature coffee, a menu that includes pastries, breakfast, and lunch items.  The café is set to open in April in the former Dragonfly Café location at 9 East Broad Street.

The Hazleton cafe is the company’s second location, following the opening of the first Grateful Roast Coffee in Nanticoke three years ago. Owners Brian Williams and Sarah Kratz are planning a soft opening for April, followed by a grand opening in May. They expect the hours to be the same as the Nanticoke location: Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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CAN BE services help Candelles organize and grow

With the use of several services offered through the CAN BE program, Candelles, a handmade soy candle company located in the CAN BE Innovation Center within Valmont Industrial Park, has tripled the size of its production, distribution and storage facility just 15 months after moving in.

Candelles, which Kelley Major and C.J. Graaf founded in 2013 out of their kitchen, originally occupied 860 square feet of space when moving its operations to CAN BE in November of 2017. Over the past 15 months, the company has tripled the amount of space it occupies within the facility which now includes a loading dock as well.

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CAN BE sponsors Greater Hazleton Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

CAN BE Coordinator of Entrepreneurial Services Jocelyn Sterenchock presented the 2018 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Jeremy Thorne during the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce’s 18^th annual Business and Community Awards Luncheon. This marks the fifth consecutive year that CAN BE has sponsored the award.

Thorne is the owner of ThorneCare Landscape Solutions, LLC, a professional landscape company with more than 14 years of experience in the industry. He began his entrepreneurial career by starting a mowing business at an early age. By the age of 25, Jeremy went on to attend college and pursue a horticultural degree. After working for a time at a landscaping company in State College, Thorne returned to Greater Hazleton so he could start his own business proving quality landscaping services.

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Wells Fargo makes $112,500 check presentation to downtown Hazleton Launchbox project

On Friday, May 18, Wells Fargo presented a $112,500 check to the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress to help establish the Penn State Hazleton LaunchBox small business incubator. The presentation took place at the 13 W. Broad St. property, which is the target of the rehabilitation funds.

This sizable donation is being made as part of a larger $150,000 PA Department of Community and Economic Development (2017-2018) Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credit award to fund Phase Two renovations to the long-vacant property. This is the second year in a row that Wells Fargo has contributed to this program. Last year’s donation of $110,000 helped fund remediation of the building’s blighted conditions.

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