Yocco’s is "The Hot Dog King” of the Lehigh Valley, and Gary Iacocca currently holds the keys to the kingdom.
The vast majority of the Lehigh Valley’s current populace has never known a time when quieting a hunger pang with a Yocco’s hot dog was not an option. It’s been 100 years since founder Theodore Iacocca served up his first hot dog (grilled to well-done perfection, never boiled or steamed) in center city Allentown. To put that in perspective, when that very first Yocco’s hot dog was being gobbled up in 1922, television had not yet been invented, Warren G. Harding was in the White House and a gallon of milk cost about 35 cents. And consider all that’s happened since then: wars, recessions, triumphs, tragedies and advancements in science and technology that keep the world moving along at a frenetic pace. So perhaps it’s comforting that the Yocco’s of today takes pride in keeping the Yocco’s experience as close to Theodore’s original vision as possible.
Yocco’s bills itself as "The Hot Dog King” of the Lehigh Valley, and Gary Iacocca currently holds the keys to the kingdom. He’s Theodore’s grandson, and the third-generation owner of what is now a mini empire of six different locations. He can easily rattle off the dates, names and events that collectively tell the story of his family, which is also the story of Yocco’s.
When Italian immigrant Theodore Iacocca (his true Italian name was “Diodoro,” Gary says) first settled in Allentown, he tried his hand at a few different jobs—including deliveryman for A-Treat soda, and elevator operator for the Americus Hotel—before he took over a small store at 711 Liberty Street that sold things like cigars, candy and soda, but not hot dogs; it took a chance encounter with a beautiful woman for Theodore to see the potential in what would become his biggest seller. As the story goes, that woman, whose identity remains shrouded in mystery all these years later, stopped at the store and asked Theodore if he sold hot dogs. He told her no. “Too bad,” the woman said, and left with a wink. “The next day he went out and got hot dogs,” Gary says.
Hot dog allegiances run strong and deep around here, but for many Lehigh Valley denizens, only Yocco’s will do.
The woman never returned, but lots of other customers did. Theodore’s little store became a favorite of Allentown factory workers looking for a quick and affordable lunch spot. But it should be noted, they technically weren’t flocking to “Yocco’s” just yet. The iconic moniker would come later, courtesy of a mispronunciation that caught on with the locals. Instead, those hungry patrons were getting their fill at the Liberty Grille, as Theodore’s place was known at the time.
Although the name would change, there was a constant from day one: the chili sauce. Gary says his grandmother Susan (Italian name: Assunta) was instrumental in coming up with the recipe that’s still used to this day. But why put chili sauce on a hot dog, anyway? “It was probably more of an Italian thing,” Gary explains. “Italians love to put sauce on things. Of course, this was not a tomato sauce, this was a meat sauce. We consider it a condiment.” So, what’s in that famous Yocco’s sauce? Hamburger and spices. “And that’s it,” says Gary. That’s as lengthy an explanation an outsider can hope to get. “It is a secret recipe, it is a family recipe,” Gary says. “I have not varied from that.” People do ask for other toppings, of course, and Yocco’s is happy to accommodate them, but ketchup connoisseurs, take note: Yocco’s didn’t offer the red stuff until the 1950s or ’60s. “It was a sin to put ketchup on a hot dog,” Gary jokes. A classic Yocco’s dog is slathered with mustard, chopped onions and that famous chili sauce, and nestled in a steamed roll. And true fans know that a Yocco’s hot dog should always be washed down with a cold glass of chocolate milk.
Gary’s father, Julius Iacocca, got involved in the family business in the late 1940s. He and his brother, Albert Iacocca, get the credit for putting the rather ho-hum “Liberty Grille” appellation to bed for good. “While [Theodore] was gone my father had the name Yocco’s painted on the window because everyone called it Yocco’s.” And that’s because the predominantly Pennsylvania German population had a tough time pronouncing “Iacocca.” It came out sounding more like “Yo-co-ca,” which then became Yocco’s. “Forevermore it was Yocco’s, which is so much better than Liberty Grille,” Gary says.
By the 1950s, the store had moved to 625 Liberty Street, and business was brisk. “On any given day, if you were there at lunchtime, there were people lined up down the street,” Gary says. He began paying his dues at the shop when he was a boy, cleaning tables and collecting the glass bottles that needed to be returned to vendors. But it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that he’d be running the show someday. He worked in marketing and advertising for many years before returning to the Yocco’s fold full-time. He bought out his father and uncle to become the sole owner on January 1, 1991. “I’ve worked very hard to modernize the business, expand the menu, but at the same time continue doing what my grandfather and father did before me,” Gary says.
There are currently six Yocco’s locations spread across the Lehigh Valley, and while the hot dog remains its signature item, the Yocco’s faithful can also gobble up cheesesteaks, chicken sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, pierogi, French fries and more. And for Lehigh Valley natives who have left the nest but still have a hankering for a hometown favorite, the “Doggie Pac” offers the Yocco’s experience in traveling form, with a dozen dogs and all the fixings that can be prepared and enjoyed anywhere. The company says the boxes have made their way to every corner of the globe.
Whenever Gary, 68, decides it’s time to retire, there’s already a fourth generation of Iacoccas waiting in the wings. His oldest son, Chris, is vice president of operations. Gary has already entrusted him with the secret chili sauce recipe. They prepare it regularly in a 60-gallon steam kettle. But what—besides that chili sauce—is the secret to Yocco’s century-long success? “We’re fast food and we do it really well,” Gary says. “Even when we have lines at the door, you’re in and out of there very quickly.” And Gary says Yocco’s always strives to serve quality products, starting with a hot dog that’s made from beef, pork and spices—no fillers.
Hot dog allegiances run strong and deep around here, but for many Lehigh Valley denizens, only a Yocco’s hot dog will do. “We have customers who are in their 70s, 80s, 90s, and they’ve been coming here since they were kids,” Gary says. “The best compliment I get is when people come and say, ‘I haven’t been here in 20 years but it’s still the same great hot dog.’”
The original Yocco's (formerly the Liberty Grille) in Center City Allentown.
That’s not to say the past 100 years have been a breeze for Yocco’s. Theodore Iacocca had only been in business for nine years when the Great Depression threw the nation into an economic tailspin. Gary says his grandfather had to use bologna as a substitute for a little while when his regular hot dogs were unavailable. More recently, the pandemic, supply chain issues and staffing shortages have been the source of Gary’s headaches. But, like his father and grandfather before him, he’s adapted. “Whatever you had to do to stay alive and stay in business. That’s kind of what the story of Yocco’s is. We’ve been through a lot. And here we are.”
The pandemic squashed plans for a major celebration at the beginning of this year, but never fear, Yocco’s fans, this milestone will not go unrecognized. Gary says there will be contests, giveaways and pop-up events into the spring of 2023. There will be merch, too—think T-shirts and magnets.
Yocco’s did mark the occasion with a somewhat grand gesture over the summer: the company donated $100,000 to the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania to create an endowment for Allentown’s Mercy School for Special Learning, which has served children and young adults with special needs for 68 years. It’s just one of the many causes near and dear to Gary’s heart. “I believe a good business has a responsibility to give back to the community,” he says.
Published as "Insight" in the November 2022 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
