In a photo from 2016, Mimmo’s owner Mark Bronsburg is seen tossing some dough to be made into authentic New-York style pizza. ‘I’m old school,’ he says, however with some assistance from the DCP’s College Ambassador’s Program, his old school work ethic and dedication can meet new-age marketing and promotion and see the downtown institution continue to serve the community.
Times Leader file photo
Downtown WB restaurant has weathered many storms
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Ryan Evans | Times Leader
Mimmo’s Pizza & Restaurant at 46 Public Square, Suite 2, has been a downtown institution for nearly 40 years. As a matter of fact, their 40th anniversary will come on March 3.
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
Ryan Evans | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Mimmo’s Pizza & Restaurant has been a Public Square Institution for nearly 40 years, providing Italian cuisine to downtown workers on their lunch breaks, high school kids looking to grab a bite, and college students and professors filling time between classes and studies.
Owner Mark Bronsburg worked for four years under original owner Dominic Buonsante at Mimmo’s Dallas location. Four years later, Bronsburg would buy the Public Square business and carry it into the 21st century. As a matter of fact, March 3 will mark 40 years.
That’s not to say Bronsburg hasn’t seen his challenges along the way, but the man is a worker, and has seen it through thus far.
When things got difficuly back in March of 2020, he considered closing for good.
“When it (pandemic-related shutdowns) first happened, I think we dropped like 70% of our business. I was seriously thinking about closing like right in the early beginning,” he reflected. But then the city and federal government gave out grants. And then he says there were the Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Association, and with those funds, they were able to get through the year.
The following year, 2021, they were able to secure more funding, which took them through until this past fall.
“And then starting in November, no back up money or nothing like that. I mean we’re probably near 60% of the way back, maybe 65. But without that lunch crowd, you know, it’s not gonna happen,” he says. He added the when the restaurant was originally constructed, it was geared towards downtown foot traffic, and things have changed.
However, that’s not to say there’s no hope. Bronsburg says the Diamond City Partnership’s College Ambassador Program may be just the thing the business needs.
“I’m old school,” he admits. He’s proud to be a hard-working guy whose made his life with this restaurant. That said, he’s open to some new-age ingenuity.
“I think it was two weeks ago, two girls from the DCP came in,” and after a conversation with them, he says, “They’re supposed to, once school starts, get some kids to help me do my social page.”
The College Ambassador’s Program, as you may know, is an effort to get local students involved with helping downtown businesses recover from the pandemic via marketing, branding, adaptation to new business practices, graphic design and promotional activities, new planning, roundtables, social media and whatever else they can do to help out.
With new school technology and the old school, steadfast work ethic that Bronsburg personifies, there’s hope that Mimmo’s will stick around, and rebound with the rest of downtown.
Mimmo’s is a community staple, and a community can rally around a business that’s kept generations fed and functioning, from a time when Public Square was bustling, to present day, as we eek our way out of uncertainty.
Mimmo’s, located at 46 Public Square, suite 2, is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.