After 16 years of slinging gyros and cheesesteaks out of a storefront on East Market Street, King of Kings is shutting its doors for good. Twin brothers Jason and Eric Negron will close the downtown Wilkes-Barre restaurant at midnight following Saturday, September 12, ending a run that turned a 400-square-foot Public Square nook into one of the city's most recognizable food stops.
The brothers cited a mix of rising costs, shifting nightlife patterns, and a lasting drop in downtown foot traffic tied to remote work as reasons for the closure, according to Fox56. Eric Negron told the outlet he is looking for a better quality of life going forward, and said he plans to take a nap once the restaurant serves its final plate. Jason Negron called the decision bittersweet and sad, but said he is excited for a new adventure.
From a Public Square Nook to a Downtown Staple
Jason and Eric Negron opened King of Kings Gyros in 2010 in a tiny storefront at 37 Public Square, launching the business after spotting a gap in the local market for gyros and cheesesteaks, per Fox56. The shop originally focused strictly on gyros before expanding its menu and footprint, according to historical reporting from the Times Leader.
In January 2020, the brothers consolidated King of Kings Gyros with their companion business, The Cheesesteak Factory, into the single larger storefront at 17 East Market Street, a move that cut their operating expenses in half, the Times Leader reported. The timing proved fateful: the merger happened just two months before COVID-19 restrictions upended local dining citywide.
That earlier crisis was not the brothers' first setback. The Cheesesteak Factory had already closed for nearly a year between 2018 and 2019 after an alleged internal theft of nearly $20,000 in cash and supplies accumulated over eight years, according to WNEP. The owners sold equipment and funded electrical repairs just to reopen. When they relaunched, they introduced a signature item called The Twinning Cheesesteak, which blended ribeye steak with gyro meat to celebrate merging their two food ventures, WNEP noted.
Surviving the Pandemic, Then a Slower Recovery
When the pandemic hit weeks after the East Market Street consolidation, the Negrons leaned hard on third-party delivery. During the early lockdowns of 2020, services like DoorDash accounted for 70% to 80% of King of Kings' total sales as downtown foot traffic dried up almost overnight, WNEP reported at the time.
That reliance on delivery kept the business alive through the worst of the shutdowns, but the recovery that followed never fully restored the old lunch rush. Employee visits to downtown Wilkes-Barre in 2023 reached only 56% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, driven by remote work policies at major employers including Highmark and Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, according to statistics published by the Times Leader and sourced to Diamond City Partnership, the district's management organization. Overall visitation to downtown rebounded to 88% of 2019 levels by 2023, but that recovery was driven largely by events and college students rather than office workers, leaving a persistent gap in daytime restaurant business.
Fox56 reported that King of Kings faced higher prices, changes in nightlife, and reduced foot traffic from remote work as the combination that finally made continuing untenable. That squeeze mirrors a broader national trend: the USDA's Economic Research Service projected food-away-from-home price inflation around 3.6% for 2026, following cumulative wholesale food price increases exceeding 30% nationwide since 2020, pressure that has squeezed small restaurants statewide.
A Sticky-Note Wall and Hundreds of Thousands of Gyros
Beyond the food, King of Kings built its identity on a wall of customer-written Post-it notes that began accumulating in 2011 and eventually filled 18 display boards and multiple scrapbooks, according to the Times Leader. The notes ranged from customer reviews to pop culture drawings and personal messages, turning the counter area into an informal community scrapbook over the years.
Over 16 years, the Negron brothers made hundreds of thousands of gyros, per Fox56, churning out hundreds a week at the height of business. That output came at a personal cost: Jason Negron underwent knee surgery last month, and Eric Negron told Fox56 he worked 14 open-to-close shifts while his brother recovered.
Eric Negron thanked the community for making the brothers' dreams possible, and both twins said they will miss their customers and the sticky notes covering the restaurant's walls. The brothers told Fox56 they are open to selling King of Kings rather than letting the concept disappear entirely, leaving open the possibility that another operator could pick up the brand.
What Happens to the Storefront Next
Downtown Wilkes-Barre's Business Improvement District, managed by Diamond City Partnership, spans from North Street to Ross Street and from Wilkes-Barre Boulevard to the Susquehanna River, an area anchoring more than 4,000 residents and the campuses of King's College and Wilkes University. Whether the 17 East Market Street storefront sits vacant or draws a new tenant remains an open question as the district continues its broader revitalization push.
For now, the countdown is set. King of Kings will serve its last gyros and cheesesteaks through Saturday, September 12, before locking up at midnight and closing a 16-year chapter of downtown Wilkes-Barre's food scene.
