In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you cannot sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the Hot Dog King. When Yocco's claimed last year they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.
REPRINTED FROM AUG.28, 2007
UPDATE 2016: Yocco's has announced that they have closed their original location in the 600 block of Liberty Street.
Every time I've been at the liberty street location, it's crowded.
ReplyDeleteSeems that the location is a prime location for another lunch restaurant. If Gary Iacocca doesn't like the business there, this is an opportunity for someone else to take over.
Anecdotal walk-bys of a retail establishment is not market research. Do we know how much added liability insurance he must pay at that location? Rent or property taxes, depending on the circumstances? Fewer hours of operation because of the type of foot traffic in the neighborhood? Like everybody but the owner we do not know the circumstances. What I do know is that profitable stores do not close. Iacocca is an honorable man....so I trust his word.
ReplyDeleteYuckos.
ReplyDeleteAll that will be missing from downtown?
Heartburn.