By Denise Allabaugh, Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice
WILKES-BARRE — A new business will open in the Hampton Park apartment building on East Northampton and South Washington streets in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
AmberDonia Bakery, known for its European pastries and wood-fired pizza, will open in the space where Ibop Coffee Company closed last year.
The bakery has another location at 26 E. Union St. in Kingston that will remain open. Another location, across from the Viewmont Mall in Dickson City, will close when it moves to downtown Wilkes-Barre, said Butch Sacipi, who owns the bakery with his wife, Aida.
A sign outside Hampton Park lets people know that AmberDonia Bakery is coming soon. Sacipi said he expects to open the bakery in two months.
The bakery’s former location at 1526 Farr St. in Scranton closed when its Kingston location opened more than a year ago.
Sacipi said he thinks his new spot in downtown Wilkes-Barre is in a great location.
“It’s a corner spot with great visibility,” he said.
Nicholas Dye and Casey and Adam Donahue of D&D Realty own Hampton Park East and the contiguous Hampton Park West, as well as the Alleghany Lofts and the recently acquired PNC Bank building — which they plan to convert to apartments and office space in a project called “Riverview West.” Other buildings that bring foot traffic to the area include the Elevation Lofts and B’nai B’rith Apartments.
“The downtown population is approaching 5,000 people and you have the downtown workforce of about 14,000 who come into downtown,” Dye said. “You have nearly 20,000 people within a couple square miles who will now have the benefit of being near the bakery.”
Dye said five free parking spaces will be designated for bakery customers in the former Old Fell House lot at East Northampton and South Washington streets and another 10 spaces will be limited to one hour. Metered spaces also are available nearby as well as spaces in downtown parking garages.
Sacipi, who formerly lived in New York and now lives in Kingston, doesn’t think parking will be a problem because he said people will drive miles to pick up pastries from a traditional bakery.
“Most people think it’s a problem but if you make your product the way it’s supposed to be and you love what you do, I won’t have a problem,” he said. “In New York, people would come between the alleyways to get a product.”
He said all the people who live in the apartment buildings downtown will “enhance the operation.”
“What we sell is nothing they can’t afford. A cup of coffee and a pastry is $3,” he said. “I don’t think you could go wrong.”
Sacipi and his wife started their business in Conyngham in 2010 before relocating to Scranton in 2012 and then to Kingston.
The name AmberDonia is derived from the names of their two daughters, Amberly and Cedonia. They also have a son, Thorin.
Dye said AmberDonia Bakery has all three things needed for an eatery to be successful: good product, service and ambience.
“Butch and Aida have proven they can deliver that to the community,” Dye said. “We’re very excited to have them downtown.”
