Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce Business and Buyers' Guide 2020 Business and Buyers' Guide | Page 23

RITZ THEATER AND
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
“
“Joining the Chamber was
our fast-track to success.
– Michael Melcher, Ritz
Theater and Performing
Arts Center
When Michael and Sheri Melcher first set foot
in the long-vacant Ritz Theater building in
downtown Scranton, they only saw possibility.
“During the past four years, we have faced
many challenges typical of a new small
business, but one of our biggest was restoring
and reopening the 112-year-old Ritz Theater,
which sat dormant for 20 years before we
took it over,” Michael Melcher said, crediting
a small business loan from MetroAction that
provided the opportunity for the Ritz Theater
and Performing Arts Center to expand and
open the Black Box Café. The Black Box Café
is a full-service restaurant that will provide the
theater with an in-house food service option
for events and camps, as well as an additional
offering to downtown Scranton’s growing
restaurant scene. “This would have been
impossible without the support and guidance
we received from the Scranton Chamber.”
2020 B U SINE SS A ND B U Y E R S’ GU ID E / SCRANTONCHAMBER.COM
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