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Plans to ring in 2022 in downtown Scranton

Many bars and restaurants are gearing up to ring in the new year, especially after large celebrations were frowned upon last year.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Downtown Scranton is usually the place to be for New Year's Eve, especially as many bars in the area Post-New Year's Eve celebrations after last year with no events this year, lots of people are looking forward to ringing in the new year.

Compared to last year, it's looking a bit more normal as people are going out, including at Bartari on Lackawanna Avenue. John Heim owns the arcade and bar and says in the two years they've been in business, he was hoping this would be a busy holiday but wasn't betting on it.

"This year, we're gonna be doing a little low-key just because we don't know exactly what's going on and just didn't have enough time to plan but we're hoping people are gonna come out, play safe and we'll have a good time," says John Heim, owner of Bartari.

Lauren Cunfer and her friend decided to have a fun night out before New Year's Eve. She says she expects many places to have larger celebrations because it wasn't possible last year and is looking forward to what this year will be like.

"This year, we're going to our friend's house for New Year's Eve and last year we just kind of stayed in with family and stuff. So we get to hang out with more than just our immediate family and the people we see every single day," said Lauren Cunfer of Bloomsburg.

Now with the Omicron variant going around, people are saying they're still trying to keep their plans fluid, just in case because they want to protect themselves in the new year.

"I've heard a lot of people getting in it's going around and I know this one's more catchy to get than the other ones. So we were just gonna lay low," said Cunfer.

John says he wasn't sure how many customers to expect, so they're keeping it simple with a champagne toast at midnight.

"Everything we do we try to have a little failsafe so we're not going overboard; stuff that we can reuse if something does happen. And things change at a minute's notice," said Heim.

But wherever you plan on ringing in 2022, we hope you do it safely. 

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