Berks County’s Great Cheesesteak Showdown of 1984
3
10, 2026
28
10, 2025
The Story of Tack’s Sandwich Shop in East Reading
Few eateries in Reading have inspired the kind of loyalty that Tack’s Sandwich Shop did. For nearly eight decades, the little corner spot at 16th and Cotton Streets served not just cheesesteaks and tuna sandwiches but a sense of belonging — a taste [...]
3
10, 2025
Screpesi’s Sandwich Shop: A Reading Tradition Since 1949
Screpesi’s Sandwich Shop in Reading, Pennsylvania—founded in August 1949 by Joseph and Stella Screpesi—has delighted locals for over seventy-five years with fresh food, friendly service, fair prices, and a proudly simple, memorable menu. Joseph Screpesi Humble Beginnings The first shop opened its [...]
24
06, 2025
History of Ye Olde Ironmaster Restaurant and Bechtel Farmhouse
The Ye Olde Ironmaster Restaurant, located at 1319 Lancaster Ave., Reading, Pennsylvania, was a beloved Berks County landmark housed in a historic farmhouse built in the late 1700s by Christian Bechtel. The property, part of a 180-acre homestead bordering the present day Shillington [...]
6
02, 2025
The Story of Augie’s Original Sandwich Shop
In 1946, Sebastian Ninfo, born August 17, 1899, in Italy, who immigrated to America in 1916, purchased the property at 401 North 10th Street in Reading, Pennsylvania, and later opened the Stardust Luncheonette. The restaurant quickly became a neighborhood favorite, drawing long lines—especially [...]
24
12, 2020
Throwback to Pappy’s Pizza, Nichols Shopping Center
Pappy's Pizza was a restaurant chain based out of Newark, Delaware...the territory ran from Ohio to Delaware and Allentown to Maryland. The chain was owned by a man and his two sons; one of the son's names was Mark Balick. Pappy's Pizza in [...]
24
05, 2020
Temple Inn
The Temple Inn was erected in 1928 by Morris Sassaman as Penn Temple Hotel at the intersection of Kutztown Road and Fifth Street Highway. It had 25 rooms and two banquet halls. Sassaman sold the facility in 1936. A bar, which operated on [...]
22
05, 2020
Sho-Boat
The Sho-Boat was located at the northwest corner of Schuylkill Ave. and Blair Ave., Reading. The brick hotel building dated from 1893 when erected by Augustus Resh who dubbed his property Somerset Park. An 1896 map shows a very large square structure north [...]
17
05, 2020
A & W Root Beer, 3801 Perkiomen Ave.
A & W Root Beer, 3801 Perkiomen Ave. opened in 1964. According to a 1965 directory, Leroy A. and A. Jean Burkholder opened the place, which immediately created a sensation. Young ladies clad in Scotch-plaid super-short mini-skirts delivered your order on a specially [...]
16
05, 2020
Crystal Palace Hot Wiener Shop
The Crystal Palace Hot Wiener Shop was a downtown Reading dining landmark for 82 years. Frank Pestlikes, a native of Rhodes, Greece, started the business at 744 Penn Street in a part of what had once been the Crystal Palace Hotel and Market [...]