SCRANTON — Schiff’s Marketplace in North Scranton reopened Thursday after a fire on July 13 closed the store.
Still not fully restocked, Schiff’s at 3410 N. Main Ave. plans to have a grand reopening Wednesday, spokesman Dave Bellso said.
The fire occurred around the 6 p.m. closing time, when a night crew on duty discovered an electrical filament in the door of a freezer caught fire. The fire in a shipping dock area did not cause a lot of fire damage, but smoke and soot permeated the retail store area. As a result, all perishables exposed to the smoke had to be disposed, while canned goods that were salvageable and the entire store area had to be cleaned.
By July 21, the store was still mostly empty, with cardboard covering the floors and shelves being repainted, Bellso said. Restocking followed, such that by Thursday it was time to reopen — even if the store was not fully filled again, Bellso said.
“They’ve been working around-the-clock to get this far,” Bellso said. “We opened this morning, just a soft opening. We have to move the product that we’ve made while we continue to get more product in. The store’s not going to be 100% until next Wednesday and we’re going to have our grand reopening at that time.”
The Forty Fort location of Schiff’s remained open while the Scranton location was closed. Schiff’s also serves restaurants in the area, and the Schiff’s in Forty Fort helped ensure those deliveries were made.
According to a history of the corporation posted on the Schiff’s website:
• Morris Schiff founded the business in 1945 as a small store on Penn Avenue, and it operated for 24 years servicing local hotels and restaurants with wholesale food and meat.
• In 1969, when confronted with new federal regulations in the industry, Schiff decided to close the business, which at that time had four employees — a manager, bookkeeper, meat cutter and driver.
• Alyn Scheatzle, a young meat cutter from Duryea, bought the company from Schiff and it became known as Schiff’s Restaurant Services Inc. Under Scheatzle, the Schiff’s name became a household word in the Scranton area, as well as in the restaurant industry.
• In response to growth, Schiff’s relocated for more space to 3410 N. Main Ave., which previously was the Kleinberger Pickle Factory. In 1974, Schiff’s opened the first wholesale cash-and-carry under federal U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection. “Here the public could shop shoulder-to-shoulder with the wholesale food customers,” the website says.
• New departments were added over the next several years, including deli, bakery, smokehouse, and fresh fish and produce; but HRI (hotel, restaurant and institutional) remains the backbone of the business. Employment grew to 110 full-time employees, 20 supervisory personnel and 25 part-time workers.
Schiff’s Marketplace at 3410 N. Main Ave. in Scranton reopened Thursday, July 24, 2025 after a fire on July 13, 2025 closed the store. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Schiff’s Marketplace at 3410 N. Main Ave. in Scranton reopened Thursday, July 24, 2025 after a fire on July 13, 2025 closed the store. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Schiff’s Marketplace at 3410 N. Main Ave. in Scranton reopened Thursday, July 24, 2025 after a fire on July 13, 2025 closed the store. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Schiff’s Marketplace at 3410 N. Main Ave. in Scranton reopened Thursday, July 24, 2025 after a fire on July 13, 2025 closed the store. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Schiff’s Marketplace at 3410 N. Main Ave. in Scranton reopened Thursday, July 24, 2025 after a fire on July 13, 2025 closed the store. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)