In July 1999, a packed house showed up at Skateaway in Taylor for its last night of skating. That's the caption on a file photo the Scranton Times-Tribune reprinted this year. Less than a year later, on May 15, 2000, a Price Chopper opened on the same site at 1510 S. Main Ave., at the top of Taylor Hill near the Scranton border.
For close to 24 years, the anchor space at that address belonged to one supermarket. Since Price Chopper closed in the spring of 2024, the space has come back in pieces. A gym opened at the location, and an Aldi has leased a portion of the old store. No one tenant is replacing Price Chopper. Two very different businesses are splitting the room one grocer used to fill.
One Address, Four Eras
| Era | What occupied 1510 S. Main Ave. | Date marker |
|---|---|---|
| Roller rink | Skateaway, one of five Skateaway locations | Last night of skating in July 1999 |
| Supermarket | Price Chopper | Opened May 15, 2000; closed April 19, 2024 |
| Gym | Planet Fitness | Opened December 2025; grand opening Jan. 29, 2026 |
| Grocer | Aldi, in part of the former supermarket | Lease announced August 2026 |
Friday Nights Before the Shopping Carts
Before this was a place to pick up milk, it was a place to spend a Friday night. In a 2024 profile, the Times-Tribune wrote about Fred Tallaksen, who grew up in West Side and became a four-time Emmy-nominated choreographer. He spent Friday nights at the Taylor rink as a kid. He remembered pinball, dimmed lights, the hokey pokey and learning to skate backward. The profile notes that Skateaway once had five locations, and that the Taylor rink was closed and sold before the property became a Price Chopper.
When he talked about the rink, Tallaksen was promoting "Roller Jam," a roller skating competition show he worked on as supervising choreographer. He told the paper the show was "a really, really big deal for the roller skating culture around the country." One career in skating traces back to a rink that has been gone from Taylor Hill for more than 25 years.
A Supermarket That Started as a Swap
The Taylor Price Chopper opened on May 15, 2000, the same day Price Chopper closed its West Side store on Luzerne Street in Scranton, which dated to the 1980s. The company's West Side presence effectively moved up the hill into Taylor, and the Taylor store ran from that day until spring 2024.
The end came with about five weeks' notice. On March 14, 2024, the Times-Tribune reported that the store would close on April 19. Blaine Bringhurst, president of Price Chopper/Market 32, explained the decision. "After thoroughly reviewing the store's current and future viability, we concluded that closure is the appropriate action to take," he said. The company said all 85 workers, 23 full-time and 62 part-time, were offered comparable jobs at other stores in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area.
Customers had their own questions. One shopper told WBRE/WYOU she didn't know where she would fill prescriptions and might go to Dunmore. Dunmore still has a Price Chopper, as do Wyoming, Wilkes-Barre, Edwardsville, Montrose, Middle Smithfield Township and Matamoras, counting the company's Market 32 stores.
The Building Refilled From the Side Door In
The shopping center never went completely dark. Taylor Beverage & Smoke and a state Fine Wine & Good Spirits store share the center, and both stayed open through the changes that followed.
Planet Fitness came first, opening at the location in December 2025. The gym held its grand opening ceremony on Jan. 29, 2026, and the Times-Tribune's February business roundup reported more than 19,000 square feet of cardio and strength equipment.
The grocery piece followed in August. The Times-Tribune reported on Aug. 24 that a New Jersey real estate firm representing the landlord had closed a lease with Aldi. The firm's announcement was specific about the scope: "We are pleased to announce the signing of a lease with Aldi for a portion of the former Price Chopper located at 1510 South Main Avenue in Taylor." Aldi took a portion of the building, not all of it. In a Sept. 9 roundup, the paper described the store as "coming soon," with renovation work under way and the existing tenants open while the work continued.
The supermarket space that once carried one name now holds a gym, with a grocer on the way in another part of it, while the wine and beverage shops carry on next door.
Why This Corner Keeps Drawing Retail
The shopping center sits across South Main Avenue from Taylor Commons, a strip mall anchored by Walmart. That Walmart Supercenter, with its grocery section, opened on Nov. 10, 2010. The Times-Tribune's opening-day story described shoppers waiting at the doors. For about 14 years, Price Chopper and Walmart faced each other across that stretch of South Main. From 2024 on, the Walmart side had the grocery business to itself.
Once it opens, an Aldi would bring back a second grocery option at the same intersection. It would also give the company a location on a part of the map where its stores have been further away. Aldi already operates in Dickson City, Pittston Township, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Hazle Township, Pocono Summit, Pottsville and Eaton Township. From Taylor, the nearest of those are a drive north toward Dickson City or south toward Pittston Township.
Another Aldi project just over the line in Scranton helps explain why the Taylor lease matters. In South Scranton, a developer building a Wawa on Moosic Street near Meadow Avenue had received city zoning approval a few years ago for an Aldi on the back part of that site. In August, Scranton city planner Don King told the Times-Tribune the city was reviewing a permit for an AutoZone at that Meadow Avenue location. With the South Scranton parcel now under review for an auto parts store, the Taylor Hill building is the Aldi site actually being renovated in this corner of the county.
The Address, as Last Reported
Here's the lineup at 1510 S. Main Ave. according to the Times-Tribune's September reporting:
- Planet Fitness, open at the location since December 2025, with more than 19,000 square feet of equipment.
- Fine Wine & Good Spirits, the state store next to the gym.
- Taylor Beverage & Smoke, in the same shopping center.
- Aldi, in its leased portion of the old supermarket, which the September reporting called "coming soon" with renovation under way.
Across the street, Walmart still anchors Taylor Commons. Further back, Price Chopper's West Side store on Luzerne Street closed the day the Taylor store opened in 2000. At the Taylor Hill address, a roller rink became a supermarket in 2000, and that supermarket's space is now being shared by a gym and a grocer.
A former single-tenant building now leased in pieces changes the math for the people who own property near it, both commercial and residential. If you own rentals or are weighing a purchase near South Main Avenue in Taylor, Luxe Homes Real Estate can look at how changes at this corner fit your plans and help you plan your next move. Schedule an Investment or Property Consultation with our team.
