Boscov’s to close its in-store restaurants
Six Boscov’s restaurants — long a staple of the department store’s shopping experience at its Berks and Schuylkill County locations — will cease operations, said chairman and CEO Jim Boscov on Tuesday.
The Restaurant at Boscov’s in Muhlenberg Township has already closed, while the eatery at Boscov’s East in Exeter Township and another in the Pottsville store will finish at the end of the month.
Remaining restaurants in Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre and Dover, Del. are closing as well.
“On a personal level, it’s a loss,” said Boscov. “It’s disappointing. But I have to balance that with making the right decision.”
Boscov pointed to the impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry as the reason for exiting the business, describing the continuing shutdowns and occupancy restrictions designed to prevent the spread of the virus as “unsustainable.”
“It’s very difficult,” said Boscov of the decision. “People understand what’s happening, but it’s still sad.
“Just because we can understand it doesn’t make it any easier.”
The family diner-style establishments were also sometimes referred to as Boscov’s Greenery Restaurant.
The empty restaurants are not expected to stay vacant for very long, with plans to convert the Berks locations into additional store space.
The renovated spaces will host what Boscov’s calls its “home central HQ,” which carries products aimed at improving comfort of living — especially in a time when so many people are cooped up in their homes because of the pandemic.
“People’s homes have changed,” said Boscov. “Home is now the office. It’s the spa. It’s the entertainment venue. It’s the restaurant. We brought all those things you need in your home into one area.
“We’re moving that sales area into a totally renovated and expanded space.”
Home central HQ currently resides in the stores’ auditoriums, so moving those showroom floors will allow the store to use those areas the way they were intended.
“It gives us the auditoriums for their original purposes — for meetings, displays, shows, exhibits and things like that,” said Boscov.
While Boscov understands the restaurants will be missed by staff and loyal patrons alike, the decision was personal for him as well.
Boscov began his career with the Exeter-headquartered department store chain working in the restaurant.
“I started early in the morning in the commissary, cooking, then ended up driving trucks late in the day,” said Boscov. “I understand not only how difficult it is to run a successful restaurant, but how meaningful it is.
“There’s a soft spot in my heart for the business, but I needed to do it. I wouldn’t do it if the situation forced us to do that.”
He wouldn’t speculate whether the restaurants eventually would have succumbed to the same fate without the presence of COVID-19, reiterating the virus ultimately made the decision for them.
An exact number of jobs lost in the closings was not immediately available. A spokesman for Boscov’s said the company is trying to find new positions for workers where appropriate, but acknowledged that it’s a challenge with the holiday sales rush reaching its conclusion.
The coronavirus has forced business of all sizes to be nimble and able to pivot quickly in the hopes of coming out in a reasonably healthy fiscal position on the other size.
“As a company, we’ve survived this, but we’ve needed to make changes,” said Boscov.
Boscov’s operates 8 locations across Berks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. The retail chain operates 50 store locations across Connecticut, Delaware Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.