Beloved cashier rings up last customer after 61 years at ACME

KYW

By Wakisha Bailey, Paxton Reese

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    Pennsylvania (KYW) — After more than six decades of service, Rich Czerwonka rang up his last customer on the same day he turned 85.

A familiar face at ACME Markets since 1964, Czerwonka has spent most of his life inside the store’s aisles. He started stocking shelves on the overnight shift at just 23 years old. He remembers going to work the night President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

“When I went to work that night, everyone was saying Kennedy got shot,” Czerwonka said.

Back then, bagging groceries was a trained skill, and Czerwonka took pride in every detail — from straightening cereal boxes to making the floors shine.

“When you walked in that front door, that floor would shine like a million dollars,” Czerwonka said.

Eventually, Czerwonka moved to the front of the store, becoming a cashier, a friend to customers and a staple of the community.

“I really enjoy talking to people. Sometimes it’s a pleasure when you get up in the morning and know you’re going to talk to somebody.” Czerwonka said.

After losing his wife of 49 years in 2015, his coworkers became his second family. He played Santa at Christmas, never missed a shift during the pandemic, and made every customer feel welcome.

On his final day, customers brought cards, hugs, and birthday wishes.

After 61 years, 7 months and 24 days, Czerwonka made his final announcement over the store intercom:

“ACME family, I’m walking out the door for the last time. I’m happy I’ve worked with you all these years. God bless — and long life.”

Czerwonka’s legacy lives on in the people he greeted, trained, laughed with, and loved — proof that a life well-lived is built one small act of kindness at a time.

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