On Wednesday, Feb. 17 the Hellertown Planning Commission will hear a proposal by a Stroudsburg entrepreneur to open a discount smoke shop inside a former produce store at 837 Main Street.
A discount smoke shop is proposed for 837 Main St., Hellertown.
According to an advance meeting agenda, Dushyant Patel has submitted an application for approval to operate a cigarette and tobacco store inside the building that formerly housed Antonio’s Pizza and Lehigh Valley Produce.
The retail produce store closed in July 2015, after operating for a little more than a year.
Building owner Irene Papageourgiou said Patel–who already owns a successful smoke shop in Stroudsburg–will also sell lottery tickets and electronic cigarettes.
An earlier plan for a Turkish restaurant didn’t work out, she said, and Patel then approached her with a proposal that meets all the requirements for a business in the Town Center zoning district.
Although smoking is an undesirable habit to some, Papageorgiou noted that the products Patel’s business will be selling are already available from other Hellertown merchants.
“This is already in town,” she said. “He’s not going to be selling anything that’s not already available in Hellertown.”
There won’t be smoking inside the store, she added.
She said other ideas by potential occupants were entertained, but after nothing came to fruition she and her husband decided to accept the proposal by Patel because they need to rent the space in order to continue to pay taxes on the building they’ve owned for more than 15 years.
“I tried,” she commented. “It’s not that I didn’t try.”
The smoke shop will be located in the front of the bilevel building. The wholesale produce business operated by Papageorgiou and her husband, John, will continue to be located at the back of the building.
She said she believes the smoke shop could open in late March or early April.
Hellertown zoning and codes enforcement officer Kris Russo said the woman who looked at 837 Main Street for her restaurant is now planning to open it as a Mediterranean eatery at 1111 Main St.
That was the former location of the Hellertown Lunch Box, which closed in late December.
The Feb. 17 planning meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Hellertown Borough Hall, 685 Main St.