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Runco’s Torn Down, Crews Make Way for Dealership

A business that holds a lot of memories for people in Dunmore has been torn down. The old Runco’s catering and banquet hall facility is gone, and crews ar...

A business that holds a lot of memories for people in Dunmore has been torn down.

The old Runco's catering and banquet hall facility is gone, and crews are making way for a new car dealership.

Runco's, where many people in Dunmore had weddings and parties for decades, was torn down a few weeks ago. It had sat empty for several years.

Now, crews are just starting to prepare the lot on the O'Neill Highway for new construction.

The lot is set back from the O'Neill Highway in Dunmore, so folks Newswatch 16 spoke with said they've just noticed what's missing. The site used to be home to Runco's.

Runco's closed in 2008 and had sat empty since then, but the owners of Tom Hesser Nissan in Scranton saw the spot as an opportunity.

"It's going to be nice to have 500 Nissans lined up where people can see them from the highway, come in a pick the model and color of their choice. It's just going to be a really good move," said the dealership's sales manager Jason Kerr.

Kerr said their location on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton is feeling cramped. It will be torn down and become a parking lot for the State Office Building across the street.

And by next summer, Tom Hesser plans to be in the new Dunmore location that's about five times the size.

Nancy Chairo of Dunmore had just noticed the missing Runco's, she was married there 37 years ago. She'll always have memories of the place, and soon will have a convenient spot to service her car.

"I'm happy to have a good dealership, I've always driven a Sentra, a Nissan, I've had good luck with them," Chairo said.

The contractor for the project said plans are to have the building done by April. Officials with Tom Hesser Nissan hope to have the business reopened on the O'Neill Highway sometime in June.

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