Revamped Ritz to host grand opening in Scranton

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A popular historic building in Scranton has a new look. The revamped Ritz will be holding its grand opening this weekend.

The Ritz has been a staple here in Scranton for more than 100 years and not only has a new look, but a lot to look forward to.

More than a century after the building was built in the heart of Scranton, the historic venue now known as The Ritz has been revamped.

“A lot of people want to pack up and leave northeast Pennsylvania, my goal is to always create something here that people want to flock to northeast Pennsylvania because if we as a community rally together to make things that people want to do, people don’t want to leave,” the Ritz Theater Co-owner Josh Balz said.

The revitalization began just five months ago and focused on embracing the early years of the 1900s when the venue first thrived.

“The era when the Ritz was such a big hit, when Scranton was a boom town, we sort of wanted to have that Phantom of the Opera, dark, moody, classic look to it,” said Ritz Theater Co-owner and CEO James Olecki.

This began with welcoming the dark dining experience, noir dark spirits, as their first vendor.

“We closed December 16, and we got it ready for New Year’s Eve reservations. From there, we just started spanning out across the building,” Olecki explained.

The focus throughout the building is to share Scranton’s history in entertainment, shedding light on stars that made their way up from the Electric City.

“In the common areas we really wanted to tip our hat to the rich history of the Ritz, the famous performers,” Olecki continued.

“Houdini, Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball. No one knows that those huge stars have played in Scranton, in this building, so we want to make sure that they know that and they know the rich history of Scranton,” Balz said.

One of the most popular attractions in the Ritz history book will be making a return, dollar sodas and movies as a thank-you to the community.

“To be able to come in here to buy a Coca-Cola for a dollar and to be able to see a movie for a dollar is just so important to us and it’s only going to keep growing from there,” Balz added.

The grand opening of the Ritz will be on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

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