A new coffee shop paying homage to the property’s past will add another amenity to Scranton’s Lace Village.
Jenn Saunders, owner of Northern Light Espresso Bar & Cafe on Biden Street in the city’s downtown, plans to open Chantilly Café inside the mixed-use community on Meylert Avenue by mid-May to early June.
Saunders decided to move forward with the new project after receiving a call from Don Rinaldi — her landlord at Northern Light, who also developed Lace Village — to see if she would be interested in establishing a café at the renovated property.
“I’ve been following Don’s vision and it’s such a unique, wonderful use of space,” Saunders said.
Saunders also shares a personal connection to the property, which makes the venture even more meaningful.
“Growing up in the area, I had a relative who worked at the factory for many years,” she said. “I’m so happy to be part of it.”
The clocktower is seen from the Lace Village Nottingham Square Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A loom used in the production of lace is on display at the Lace Village Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Lace Village Nottingham Square Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A sign of the former Scranton Lace Company is above the entrance to Lace Village Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
For more than a century until closing in 2002, the 11-acre facility was home to the Scranton Lace Company, once North America’s largest manufacturer of Nottingham lace. At its peak, the complex employed 1,400 workers who enjoyed on-site amenities like a gym, barbershop, theater, bowling lanes and infirmary.
The site bounded by Meylert and Albright avenues grew over the years with infill construction and additions.
The Scranton Lace site was listed in 2012 on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2006, Lace Building Affiliates LP bought the vacant property.
Lace Village property manager Michael Basalyga said renovation efforts began taking place “about 14 years ago” and the property now consists of a mixed-use space with apartments, townhomes, amenities such as a fitness center, businesses, two large event spaces, two pickleball courts and an outdoor patio bar.
Saunders noted Chantilly Café will be smaller than Northern Light and won’t offer dine-in services, but it will have a patio for visitors and residents of the facility to use. The shop will also have a service window called Nottingham, located off the patio, she added.