I have 9 shopping baskets availavle! Click here to see my etsy listing.

It’s literally been 20 years since McCrory’s closed up their remaining stores for good. They had already tried to Hail Mary reinvent themselves with their Dollar Zone stores, but the last McCrory stores were gone by 1997, including the one on Penn Street in Reading. Kutztown, the one we frequented, was changed into a Dollar Zone but the hey day of the five and dime draw was well past. It had been a long time since I thought about the stores and it’s even been a longer time since I patronized the Dollar Tree which is in the spot of the former Kutztown McCrory’s. That store was glorious in it’s day. You could find anything you needed there. We even bought our parakeets there and associated supplies. Any store with a pet section had my attention! On Friday’s we shopped. It was the one day mom would take my brother and I out on the town. It always includes a lunch stop. McCrory’s had a lunch counter with some booths and waitress service to the right when you entered the store. It was diner-esque in decor and design. The kitchen was open and it was a full service place. A creature of habit, I do remember my favorite and only choice was the Peachy Grilled Cheese platter which was nothing more than a toasted grilled cheese (American on white), fries and a had a canned peach on a bed of lettuce.

ACtual photo of the kutztown McCrory’s we frequented.

So the estate that I just helped out was from a former Restaurant Manager/cook at the Penn Street McCrory’s. I was able to score 2 albums that contain restaurant staff procedures and instructions plus a giant album of all the recipes for everything from sauces to salads, entrees, sandwiches and desserts! It’s a treasure trove of fun! I plan on trying some myself and would love to digitize them and make them available. I am sure I am not the only one who would be giddy by this find!

Click the following boxes for some articles I found online regarding the Berks County McCrory stores and enjoy a few snaps of some of the cool items in this stash! XO Malissa

Reading McCrory’s Store history May 2020 Go Reading Berks

Kutztown Dollar Zone to close and remaining stores Morning Call 2001.

The rules! We have SERIOUSLY gone soft since the 90’S! Also, this company was definitely lost in time!

Here’s some cool ephemera I have! Training materials as well as an entire binder of recipes! It’s awesome to see especially now that uniforms have been replaced by polo shirts and other things like hair length are less of a factor as long as you have it tied back, under a hat or net. I also read in one binder that the most profitable department in the entire store was the restaurant! A friend asked me for the chicken salad recipe. I found 2. Will share those for now. I hope to scan and digitize more in the future!

The Blog.

McCrory Five and Dime Deep Dive