Category:Yocco's

Yocco's Hot Dogs 

Restaurant in Pennsylvania
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Instance of	business
Industry	restaurant
Location	United States of America
Headquarters location	Emmaus
Inception	1922
official website
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Yocco's is restaurant in Allentown, known primarily for its hot dogs. It was founded by Theodore Iacocca in 1922, uncle of the late Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca (1924-2019).

In 1922 a young Italian immigrant named Theodore Iacocca opened up a small cigar and convenience store known as “Liberty Grille” at 711 Liberty Street. How it became a restaurant is supposedly, a beautiful woman customer entered one day and approached Theodore asking whether or not the store sold hot dogs, he told her that they did not. “Too bad.” she said and walked out the door. The next day Iacocca bought a grill and some A&B hot dogs and began selling them to his customers. He never saw the beautiful woman again but from that day forward Liberty Grille was known for one thing, its dogs, offering lunch-time appeasements to local, hungry factory workers. In December 1934, Iacocca moved his now restaurant to a new location about a block east, to 625 Liberty Street.

The name Yocco’s initially came about because the area’s residents, being predominantly of German descent, had difficulty pronouncing I-a-coc-ca and instead pronounced it Yo-co-ca. Liberty Grille quickly became known as "Mr. Yocco's Place". While visiting Italy in the 40's, his sons Julie and Albert, who later took over the business, painted Yocco's on the large window out front; name has stuck ever since. The Yocco's "Doggie Pack", introduced in the early 1960s, allows its customers to take home its hot dogs and all of its ingredients to make them on a grill for picnics and family get-togethers. However customers have sent Yocco's Doggie Packs all around the world to friends and families.

The business underwent a major remodeling in 1960 which gave it a modern appearance, and subsequent changes to its interior over the years. Starting in 1959, it added locations at the Dorneyville Golf Center (Closed in 1973), in West Allentown and other surburban locations in Emmaus, Fogelsville, Trexlertown, and Hanover Township. In May 2016, its Liberty Street location closed after 82 years. The business is now owned by the third generation of the Iacocca family.

Over the years Yocco’s has introduced many other items as well; such as steak sandwiches, hamburgers, fries, pierogies, and sausage sandwiches; but the hot dogs are still its number one offering.