HANOVER TOWNSHIP -- Construction is underway to expand a bakery in Luzerne County that was hit by a devastating fire in 2015.
The Nardone Brothers Baking Company needs more room in its Hanover Township facility because of growing demand.
Work is underway to build a 57,000 square-foot expansion of Nardone Brothers Bakery at its Hanover Township facility near Wilkes-Barre. The company is known for its frozen pizza, which it delivers to almost every state in the nation.
"We just see ourselves getting bigger in the same areas that we're in now, and having everything under one roof," said co-owner Tom Nardone.
The expansion is needed because of growing demand and to make up for what was lost in a fire at its old Wilkes-Barre facility almost two years ago.
Investigators ruled the fire accidental but the entire building, which the family-owned company used since the 1960s, has to be gutted.
"It happened at a time when it was our peak business season, in late August, so there were some genuine concerns there," said Nardone quality control director Joe Scharf.
But soon, when the construction is finished, all of the bakery's workers will be in Hanover Township.
"We're bringing up to this facility what we did down there," said Nardone.
"It's great to work with a bunch of family-owned business guys, great to work with, makes me feel like I'm part of the family," said Scharf.
Construction is expected to be completed in the early summer. Then, Nardone's is expecting to hire 50 to 60 people, from production to drivers.