EDWARDSVILLE -- The holiday shopping season has stores throughout our area swamped with shoppers, and that includes a Kmart in Luzerne County that was closed last Christmas because it had been devastated by the Susquehanna River.
This year, loyal shoppers are thrilled the Kmart in Edwardsville is open for the holidays.
The holiday rush has returned to Kmart in Edwardsville. This Christmas season the cash registers are open and busy. Last year all was quiet and still in disarray after the store was hit by historic flooding in September.
“It's been here for many years, and it's nice to have them back,” said Maryann Dassaro of Dallas.
“We are so happy they're back. I love what they did with the store. It's so much better than what we had for 30 years. I'm excited,” said Debbie Jannuzzi of Edwardsville.
Shoppers including Jannuzzi of Edwardsville were thrilled when the place reopened in September, but they're even happier avoiding the holiday rush in congested shopping areas during the holidays.
“It's been wonderful. We were back and forth to Wilkes-Barre. We appreciate going there, but it was hectic,” said Jannuzzi.
The store manager said holiday sales have been brisk. He said sales have been doing well since the place reopened in September. It's pretty clear to see this store has a lot of loyal shoppers.
“You have no idea. We live here. We're here sometimes three or four times a day. We spend a lot of time here,” said Kathy Sorbelli of Edwardsville.
Especially during the holidays said Sorbelli of Edwardsville.
“It saves us from having to go all the way over to Wilkes-Barre Township because we still shopped Kmart. It was just a lot more traffic, and this time of year it's crazy traffic anyways, so this is right down the road. It's real convenient,” said Sorbelli.
Convenience is the main reason shoppers are thrilled to be doing their Christmas shopping again, but they said there's a lot to like about the store, especially this time of year.
“Oh, everything is neatly kept. It's easy to find things. You would never know there was a flood? No, I would never know there was a flood," said Nancy Karpovich of Hanover Township.
The Kmart is the only store to reopen in that plaza in Edwardsville. There is no word yet if any other businesses will be returning there anytime soon.