With plenty of boarded up storefronts in the city’s downtown, one local couple is bucking the economic tide and has opened a store that offers a little bit of everything needed by just about everyone.
Agora Discount Store, 551 Main St., opened its doors just over a month ago and is already seeing as many as 300 customers a day, Pam Wentz said.
“All of the people here, all of the business, the Vine Street Towers, we were thinking about them,” Wentz said.
Agora is Greek for marketplace, a description that sums up the merchandise and the atmosphere at the business owned by Wentz and her husband, Mark, of Dale Borough.
Jacqueline Cowan, 77, of Connor Towers, stopped in for a soft drink and added a blouse and a package of sliced cheese to her purchase Sunday.
“I’ve been over a couple times a week. I like the refrigerated foods and the clothes, Cowan said.
The business spirit of the couple is proving beneficial to the downtown, its residents and workers, Mayor Tom Trigona said.
“They seem to have everything there; they are centrally located,” Trigona said. “It’s the inner city, and anything we can do to bring people in is good.”
The list of goods is seemingly endless from socks, underwear and shirts, to frozen pizza, chicken breasts and sandwiches; scrapbooking, craft and party supplies to toys, personal items and tools. It even has a cafe.
The business is the third for the couple, who started with the Subway in Windber more than a decade ago. Pam Wentz also operated a day-care center for 13 years and continues at her full-time job in the funding department at the Riverside office of AmeriStar Home Mortgage Corp., which is headquartered in Johnstown.
Mark Wentz took the bold move of stepping down as property manager for AmeriStar and works full time at Agora.
“It was kind of scary just opening this up,” Pam Wentz said. “We have to leave it in God’s hands and work hard.”
They are assisted at the business by son Eric, a student at Millerville University; daughter Tara, a registered nurse at Memorial Medical Center; and five other employees.
Agora is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Agora Discount Store, 551 Main St., offers an array of items. The store was opened by Mark and Pam Wentz of Dale Borough to serve downtown workers and residents. Dave Lloyd
Discussion
New store chooses downtown site
- Local News
-
-
$27.1B budget proposed
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.
-
Highlights of Gov. Corbett's state spending plan
Read on to see a bulleted list of Gov. Tom Corbett’s $27.1 billion state spending plan for the year that starts July 1.
-
Universities face steep cuts
State universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year would have their public funding slashed even further under a budget plan unveiled Tuesday, leading some institutions to warn of a choice between maintaining buildings and offering academic programs students need to graduate.
-
Plan hurts middle class, local Democrats contend
While members of his own party praised Gov. Tom Corbett’s fiscal restraint, some local Democratic lawmakers said the Republican’s proposed budget panders to corporate interests while inflicting pain on the middle class.
-
Senate approves proposed fee on shale drilling
The state Senate voted today to impose a fee on natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania and expand regulations for the booming industry, a milestone in a debate that has raged in the Capitol for several years.
Senators voted 31-19 to approve the 174-page bill that would fund road work and environmental clean-ups and give local governments the power to decide if the fee would be imposed on their local wells.
“Could we have done better? Supposedly, but it has taken three years to get this far,” said supporter Sen. John Wozniak, D-Johnstown, among a handful who crossed party lines. “It is time to turn the page.” -
Blogging with heart
I've got so much stuff for this Sunday's American Heart Month package, that some of the stories will spill over onto Monday. But I don't know what to leave out, or hold for the next week, so it looks like a double hit this week.
-
Pa. gas drilling fee bill debate ends without vote
Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.
-
Detour hurting some Portage businesses
Craig Mazzarese’s business depends heavily on drive-by customers, but since last week fewer drive-bys have been stopping
-
Local airport funding intact
Airport leaders here are breathing sighs of relief after Congress approved funding to support local commercial air service through 2015.
-
With state revenue tight, Westmont seeks school budget input
The Westmont Hilltop school board on Tuesday night held a public forum at the middle school to explain why the district, already one of the most efficient in the state, must raise taxes each year.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes MN, MO, CO
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Romney Congratulates Santorum, Focuses on Obama
Paul Says Results Help Him Rack Up Delegates
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
