Downtown Wesleyville Struggling as more Businesses Close

 Downtown Wesleyville Struggling as more Businesses Close

Article Written: September 30, 2022 at 9:18 pm

Abandoned CJ's Corvettes Toy Store & Apartment Building
3207 Buffalo Road
Wesleyville, Pennsylvania
Wesleyville Borough is a small suburb of Erie located between East Erie and Harborcreek with a population of only 3,147 residents. Wesleyville is the only borough in Erie County that is struggling with budget issues within the borough. Wesleyville's downtown district, which is locally known as Downtown Wesleyville has been struggling once again after it was revived a little bit in 2013 - 2015. More businesses have started to close in Downtown Wesleyville as well as blighted abandoned properties that have been popping up along Buffalo Road, the main road in the Downtown Wesleyville area. Businesses like Terry Etzel's at 2914 Buffalo Road, Garage Wars Boxing Club at 3323 Buffalo Road, Joe B's Carpets at 3333 Buffalo Road, Foster's Rose of Sharon at 2703 Buffalo Road, Fat Lenny's at 2926 Buffalo Road and Thrifty Misfits at 3336 Buffalo Road have all left the Downtown Wesleyville district this past year or so. Buildings like the former CJ's Corvettes store a long with the apartment buildings upstairs have been abandoned since the owner, Chuck J. Kimmeth II sadly passed away in 2016, not being able to manage the store or apartment building anymore, it fell apart and has been rotting away since then. Wesleyville Mayor, E. Paul Johnson II had expressed interest asking PennDot with help in tearing down the former toy store building on the corner of Buffalo Road & Station Road and to build a right turn connector road to turn onto Station Road from Buffalo Road a lot easier, nothing however has been worked out for those plans. The former Garage Wars Boxing Club building has been sitting abandoned for a year after there were plans to move an asian supermarket next door to the boxing gym, the asian supermarket abandoned their plans after not getting the proper building permits from the Borough of Wesleyville. The most recent closure which has affected Downtown Wesleyville tremedously was the closure of the longtime business, Your Hometown Pharmacy at 3106 Buffalo Road, corner of Buffalo Road and Wesley Avenue in Wesleyville. Your Hometown Pharmacy had been opened since 2005, providing the Wesleyville residents with an easier access to a drug store and pharmacy, without having to travel all the way to nearby Harborcreek or Erie.
Former Your Hometown Pharmacy
3106 Buffalo Road
Wesleyville, Pennsylvania

When the CVS Pharmacy closed down on Buffalo Road in the Burton Heights neighborhood of East Erie, most Burton residents relocated to nearby CVS stores or walked to the Your Hometown Pharmacy in Wesleyville. Then in September, customers walking to the Your Hometown Pharmacy were met with a "Pharmacy Closed" sign, telling customers that their perscription are moved to the Rite Aid Pharmacy just a bit further down the road in Harborcreek, forcing East Erie and Wesleyville residents to walk even further just to get their medicine once again. As of now, there is no plans for the former Your Hometown Pharmacy store, as it is currently for sale, the A-1 Income Tax store which was located in the same area with Your Hometown Pharmacy also closed down permanently when the pharmacy shut down. Other plans that have completely failed or still haven't even gone through yet is the Wesleyville Community Garden. The Wesleyville Community Garden was suppose to be a community garden located on the lot of the former Bate's Collision at 3017 Buffalo Road, corner of Buffalo Road and Willow Street in Wesleyville. Bate's Collision closed in 2019 and relocated further down the road to Harborcreek, demolishing their former Wesleyville building, the land has remained vacant for three years and the only "garden" that's there is weeds and tall grass. E. Paul Johnson II has announced plans for the Community Garden since 2021 but no progress has ever been made and nothing has been changed, the project so far has been abandoned and possibly won't ever continue. Wesleyville Borough council members are currently working on a budget for Wesleyville to get the small borough out of poverty and to try and fix up Downtown Wesleyville by making the buildings look more nicer and cleaner, similar to the plans for the Downtown Erie area by the Erie Downtown Development Corporation.


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