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BARTUSKA'S FURNITURE CLOSURE AT NANTICOKE(06.07.2012) |
Thursday, June 07, 2012: After 78 years on the same street, downtown Nanticoke landmark Bartuska's Furniture is going out of business. 3322055266.jpg)
Brothers Denis and Jim Bartuska, the third generation owners of the family business on East Main Street, say they can no longer compete with larger furniture stores selling lower-quality and cheaper imports from China.
Bartuska's Furniture took pride in exclusively selling quality American-made furniture in a moderate price range. Amid a weak economy, the Bartuskas said many people aren't buying furniture at all.
A lack of businesses and slow-moving plans to revitalize downtown Nanticoke also contributed to their decision to close, they said. Downtown redevelopment projects such as Luzerne County Community College's two new buildings - the Health Sciences Center and the Joseph Paglianite Culinary Arts Institute - have not helped their business, they said.
Bartuska's Furniture employed seven, including the Bartuska brothers, who will lose their jobs. They began a going-out-of-business sale by slashing prices 20 to 50 percent. The store will remain open until everything is sold. After that, the Bartuskas could not say what they will do next.
Denis Bartuska said the family business tried to hang on as the Nanticoke General Municipal Authority tried to spur downtown development. The Bartuskas hoped an empty lot next to LCCC's two new buildings would be developed.
"There is development hopefully headed for this town. But, with the economy, people just aren't buying furniture," he said. "We had a lot of good years here and we really wanted to stay. If there was any way that we knew things would turn around in the economy and things were going to start developing in this town, we would definitely stay. But right now, business is slow."
Chet Zaremba, vice president of Nanticoke Historical Society, called the closing of the landmark store "disheartening."
"It certainly leaves a void in Nanticoke," Zaremba said. "They certainly made their mark on the history of the downtown."Wolf Colony |
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