Scranton Mayor Paige Cognett, far left, joined officials, staff and family of Benny’s Downtown for a ribbon cutting ceremony in March.
Submitted Photo
SCRANTON — Brandon O’Malley and Corey Bayo started as high school friends and have had 10 years of success together, starting in 2016 with the opening of Benny’s in Peckville.
Together with their staff and the unwavering support of their families and children, they said they are quickly becoming a NEPA household name.
“This has always been my dream,” said Bayo, whose oldest son’s name is Benny.
O’Malley said, “It’s an amazing feeling to continue to have the support of our community, as the downtown location continues to thrive in the much-needed space. ‘Downtown needed this’ is a common phrase on repeat from our loyal customers.”
Benny’s Downtown was voted Best Square Pizza in the Times Leader Media Group’s Best of Lackawanna promotion.
O’Malley and Bayo said they are delighted to learn they have been chosen as the Best of Lackawanna downtown establishment. They said it proves that all the dedication from the owners — Corey Bayo and Brandon O’Malley — has not gone unnoticed.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our friendly servers and bartenders, our tireless kitchen staff, even our security team and on-hand contractors that have made this dream possible,” they said. “It was beautiful to watch the way the community came together — to get us up and running for our official opening in March on Scranton’s famous parade day weekend.”
As the details fell into place for Benny’s 4th location, Bayo and O’Malley said they wanted to provide downtown Scranton with a slightly “upscale feel” for Benny’s already well-known “sports bar theme.”
From the traditional fireplace to the original Martz bus station pillars, they said they worked around those artifacts to preserve the integrity of the past while advancing their vision of the future.
No corners were cut with Corey and Brandon — from new windows, custom stone work, a beautiful granite bar, down to owner-picked lighting fixtures that brought the classic look together.
”We offer downtown Scranton corporate offices a place to meet for a business lunch, to a family-friendly dinner setting, and the night doesn’t stop until 2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays as the live entertainment slowly moves the vibe to our local college’s favorite place to hang,” O’Malley and Bayo said. “Of course, you can always pop in at any time to catch games that are always on one of our 19 TVs, which includes a huge wall projector front and center.”
Benny’s Downtown is located at 119 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, and open every day but Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, “we party until 2 a.m.,” they said.
O’Malley and Bayo said, “Stop in and meet one of the members of our amazing staff and try our award-winning double-crust steak ‘n cheese pizza, hot wing pizza or our bone-in or boneless bites.
“There’s something on our menu for everyone. We look forward to meeting you soon.”
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
