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Cost of gasoline, credit card fees and shrinking sales led to decision; will focus on repairs and service.

Falzone service station, Pierce Street, Kingston, is having its underground gas tanks removed. The owners decided to focus on auto and truck service.

Clark Van Orden/The Times Leader

KINGSTON – Paul Falzone doesn’t blame his family business’s decision to hang up the gas pumps for good on current high gasoline prices. But they haven’t helped, as bargain hunting drivers have gravitated toward lower-priced gasoline retailers like Sheetz and Turkey Hill.
“The cost of gas and credit card fees played into our decision,” Falzone said Wednesday, adding that there have been times when Falzone’s wholesale cost for Exxon branded supply equaled what high-volume independents charge at the pump.
Combined with shrinking sales volume, “the cost to operate became too great for us to continue selling gas,” he said.
So earlier this week, a work crew began digging up the station’s underground tanks at 365 Pierce Street in preparation for an expansion and remodeling project. Falzone’s, which also operates a large towing service from its North Sherman Street, Wilkes-Barre headquarters, will focus on auto and light truck repairs and service in Kingston.
The added capacity will require about 10 workers, some of them new hires, Falzone said. That will offset the loss of pump attendants, most of them part time. Falzone’s, which also performs heavy truck repairs in Wilkes-Barre, employs 50 people overall.
The company has been in business since Sam Falzone started it in 1945. He bought the Pierce Street property in 1976, Paul Falzone said. It was one of the few gas stations in the area where employees pumped gas, and the closing has disappointed long-time customers who appreciated the service.
“That’s why we stayed in the game so long,” Falzone said.