The pandemic is over and new businesses are making their way to Carbon County.

Progress continues to be made at a stand-alone Starbucks in Mahoning Township.

In November, township supervisors agreed to sign a development agreement, stormwater management agreement, and accept the letter of credit.

The former PNC Bank in the Carbon Plaza Mall along Route 443 was demolished in August.

Currently, Starbucks is inside Giant in the Carbon Plaza Shopping Center.

The Carbon Plaza Shopping Center owns the mall area. The former PNC Bank branch located on the site closed in 2021.

Credit union on way

Plans for a credit union inside the Carbon Plaza Mall to move to a now vacant property right next to a stand-alone Starbucks being constructed near Blakeslee Boulevard in Mahoning Township were disclosed this year.

Victor Kelly, executive vice president of Larken Associates, which owns the Carbon Plaza Mall, said First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union would be moved from inside the Carbon Plaza mall to the former Country Harmony Natural Foods location at 1235 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East. The store closed in April.

The plans call for demolishing the existing building. Work on a stand-alone Starbucks has begun and will be located next to the credit union at the entrance of Carbon Plaza Mall.

According to plans reviewed by the Carbon County Planning Commission in September, a single-story, 2,614-square-foot commercial building that would house the credit union is proposed at the location. It would include drive-through aisles, a total of 18 parking spaces and would use the revised entrance from Route 443 to a new connection to the mall.

This would mark the second time in less than a decade that First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union would move.

The Lehigh-Valley based credit union moved the branch from South Seventh Street, Lehighton, into the Carbon Plaza Mall in 2018.

Another credit union is set to open in Palmerton.

People First Federal Credit Union is getting ready to open on 330 Delaware Ave.

New beverage store

A new beverage store opened its doors in Lehighton this year.

Mason’s Cold Beer Two, at 101 Blakeslee Blvd. Drive East, opened in August.

The 52-by-152-foot, two-unit building is constructed on roughly one acre west of Advance Auto. The location had been used by a farm stand.

The business has a huge selection of everything from domestic beer to any imported beer people are looking for, seltzers, teas, and craft beer.

Mason’s Cold Beer Two is owned by Jane Mason.

Todd Mason owns Mason’s Cold Beer in Jim Thorpe.

Independent drugstore

A new independent drugstore in Palmerton made a seamless transition upon opening in the early stages of 2023.

Palmerton Pharmacy held a ribbon cutting in May at 330 Delaware Ave.

Located at the former BB & T Bank, the locally owned drugstore held a soft opening in February.

The pharmacy offers free daily delivery, free blister packing of medications, free diabetic glucose testing, and free blood pressure monitoring. It also offers vaccines on a daily basis.

Palmerton Pharmacy has been a welcome addition to help offset the loss of Shipman’s Pharmacy, which closed in April 2022 after a 50-year run.

Balloon art

A store that specializes in balloon art opened its doors in Lehighton toward the tail-end of 2023,

Robbie’s Balloons and More recently cut the ribbon on his store at 114 S. First St.

Everything inside the store is handmade, including signature pieces like bears and flowers.

The store is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Furman encouraged customers to call him at 570-242-9080 and other times could be arranged.

Celebrating anniversary

R.A. Ahner Furniture & Appliances at 1231 Mahoning Drive East, hit the mark this year as a third-generation business.

Ronald Ahner founded the family-owned and run operation in the summer of 1968 after his wife, the late Ruthann Ahner, went to a sale with a friend of hers and bought a living room suit, and the next week bought a bedroom suit.

Ahner said the business started out regional, and now serves customers over a 70-mile radius on a regular basis.

His daughter, Rhonda Edgar, who is co-owner, said the business began with local advertising, and then grew with the advent of the internet, as its reach broadened.

Wawa in Hometown

A Wawa convenience store will soon be built in Rush Township.

The store will be located at 347 Claremont Ave. (Route 309), which is across from the Hometown Commons Shopping Plaza and Walmart.

The store will include six fueling stations, and have 50 parking spaces.

Developers from Provco Pineville LLC, Villanova, plan to combine multiple parcels for the development. Among them are those at 341 and 347 Claremont Ave., which include a garage and a beer distributor, along with vacant land behind those properties.

The beer distributor, My Brother’s Beer Barn, will continue operating.

The Rush Township Board of Supervisors recently approved final subdivision plans.

Construction hasn’t started.

The closest Wawa stores to the proposed site are in Hamburg and White Haven.

Tamaqua hotel

The Bischoff Inn, a boutique hotel inside an 1865 industrial complex, opened its doors to guests in January.

The Tamaqua site fills a void for overnight lodging in the borough.

Mario Stabio, a San Francisco native, turned the 6,000-square foot former Conrad Bischoff Planing Mill and Furniture Factory at 320 Lafayette St. into a five-room venue. The inn can accommodate up to 12 guests.

Before the $1.1 million transformation, the property sat vacant for years.

While the project modernized the building, care was taken to leave historical features in place. For example, wood windows were repaired when possible, an original tongue-and-grove ceiling was kept on the second floor, and original walls and floors were spared if possible.

The project recently received statewide recognition. Stabio accepted a “Construction Award” from Preservation Pennsylvania late this year.

The project was supported by tax credits and funding from Tamaqua’s CRIZ program.

A future phase of work will finish the basement area as an entertainment and exhibit space and rehabilitate the rear historic warehouse and former wagon shed for rental apartments and artist studio spaces.

Jill Whalen contributed to this article.