Frackville, Pennsylvania · Since 1971
A Pennsylvania Dutch Kitchen
Built on Family
Over fifty years of honest home cooking, served from the counter of a 1959 Silk City Diner that traveled 54 miles to find its forever home.
Where It All Began
In the late 1960s, John and Michelle Morgan had a vision: bring real Pennsylvania Dutch cooking to the travelers and families passing through coal country along Route 61. They found exactly what they needed in a gleaming 1959 Silk City Diner, built by the Paterson Vehicle Company in New Jersey. The price was $6,000 for the diner itself, and another $6,000 to haul it 54 miles to Frackville.
On July 16, 1971, John and Michelle opened the doors of The Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant at 433 South Lehigh Avenue, right where Route 61 meets Interstate 81 at Exit 124B. From that very first morning, the griddle was hot, the coffee was fresh, and the pot pie was made from scratch.
What started as a small roadside diner quickly became the kind of place people drive out of their way to visit. Not because of fancy decor or celebrity chefs, but because everything that comes out of this kitchen tastes like somebody's grandmother made it with love.
Pennsylvania Dutch Roots
The “Dutch” in our name is not about the Netherlands. It refers to the “Deutsch” (German) settlers who put down roots across eastern Pennsylvania centuries ago, bringing with them a culinary tradition built on resourcefulness, generosity, and flavor.
Jennifer Morgan Levkulic, John and Michelle's daughter, traces her own ancestry directly back to those Pennsylvania Dutch families. The recipes on our menu are not adaptations or approximations. They come from the same tradition that filled farmhouse tables across the rolling hills of Schuylkill County for generations.
That heritage shows up in every bowl of pot pie, every slice of shoofly pie, and every plate of smoked pork chops. This is food that was meant to be shared at long tables with people you care about. We just happen to serve it from a diner counter, too.
Discovered by Roadfood
“The Famous Dutch Kitchen is a reminder that America's best food doesn't need a Michelin star. It needs a grandmother, a griddle, and a generous heart.”
Jane & Michael Stern, Roadfood
In the late 1970s, food writers Jane and Michael Stern were crisscrossing America in search of the country's best roadside restaurants. Their journey through the anthracite region of Pennsylvania led them to our stainless steel diner on Route 61.
The Famous Dutch Kitchen became just the seventh restaurant chosen for the Stern's landmark Roadfood cookbook series. That recognition introduced our PA Dutch home cooking to readers and travelers from coast to coast, and helped put Frackville on the culinary map.
The attention only grew from there. In 2004, Rutledge Hill Press published John and Michelle Morgan's Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant Cookbook: Family-Style Diner Delights from the Heart of Pennsylvania, putting our family recipes into kitchens across the country.
Today, The Famous Dutch Kitchen is rated #1 on TripAdvisor in Frackville out of 13 restaurants. Decades after the Sterns first walked through the door, travelers still pull off I-81 because they read about us and had to see (and taste) it for themselves.
Three Generations Strong
John and Michelle Morgan built The Famous Dutch Kitchen from nothing. They bought the diner, hauled it across the state, fitted out the kitchen, and opened the doors. For decades, the two of them ran every aspect of the restaurant, from the early-morning prep to the last pot of coffee.
Their daughter Jennifer grew up in this diner. She learned to cook by standing alongside her mother, absorbing recipes that had been passed down through their Pennsylvania Dutch family for generations. When Jennifer married Tom Levkulic, he became part of the kitchen, too.
Today, Jennifer and Tom carry on what John and Michelle started. The recipes have not changed. The portions have not shrunk. The welcome you get when you walk through the door is the same one guests received in 1971. That continuity is not an accident. It's a promise this family takes seriously.
Step Inside the Diner
The Silk City Diner that John and Michelle purchased in 1959 is still very much the heart of the restaurant. Walk through the door and you will know exactly where you are.
Country Craft Charm
Handmade country crafts decorate the walls and shelves throughout the restaurant, many of them available for purchase. Every visit reveals something new to admire. It feels like walking into a neighbor's home.
Honest & Affordable
Generous portions at budget-friendly prices. That was John and Michelle's commitment from day one, and Jennifer and Tom honor it every single day. You will never leave hungry, and your wallet will thank you.
Come Sit With Us
Fifty-plus years of home cooking, and every plate still gets the same care and attention as the first one John and Michelle served in 1971. Pull up a stool, grab a cup of coffee, and taste what three generations of Pennsylvania Dutch tradition can do.
We're right off I-81 at Exit 124B, on Route 61 in Frackville. No reservations needed.