Celebrating Small Business Week in Hazleton

HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Small Business Week is underway and state and local leaders visited downtown Hazleton on Thursday, highlighting the impact small businesses have on the community.

Hazleton Food Super Market on North Wyoming Street has been a community staple for 18 years and on Thursday, members of the Shapiro Administration and elected officials stopped by to shop at the family-owned business.

“We’re based off of a Dominican culture, so our store is more Dominican than anything, but we have a lot of different products from a lot of different countries, mostly from South America and the Caribbean,” said Manny Bisono, clerk & store manager of Hazleton Food Super Market.

Manny’s father and uncle opened the store that was one of the first bodegas in downtown Hazleton.

State representative Dane Watro, who represents the 116th district, says investing in downtowns and main streets makes a difference.

“It doesn’t matter what type of small business it is, it could be an ice cream shop, it could be here picking up some groceries, it’s just super important to invest back in our community, that’s what makes our community grow,” explained Rep. Dane Watro, (r) 116th district.

Manny says he’s thankful for the patrons who choose to shop local and, in turn, help keep the business open.

“They’re like our family. They come every single day, there’s people that come even four, five times a day and it’s great. We tell them to come all the time, even if it’s just to stop and say hi,” Bisono added.

Governor Shapiro has proposed $25 million for a new Main Street Matters program in his 2024-25 budget.

It will build upon and modernize the current Keystone Communities program and is also a critical part of the governor’s economic development strategy.