Bernie's Sub & Pizza Shop in Henrico ends its 50-year-old cash-only rule

, and WTVR CBS 6

March 26, 2026 . 1:31 PM

1 min read

After more than 50 years in business, Bernie's is now accepting credit and debit cards. And owner Susan Crone isn't thrilled about it. (Courtesy WTVR)

For more than 50 years, there was one rule at Bernie's Sub & Pizza Shop: bring cash.

But in March 2026, the beloved Tuckahoe restaurant, a fixture of Henrico's West End since the 1970s, quietly made a change that left some customers shocked, others sentimental, and, in some cases, a little emotional. Bernie's is now accepting credit and debit cards.

"One guy said it was sacrilegious," said Susan Crone, 79, co-owner of Bernie's. "People have cried."

The original decision to accept only cash wasn't a grand philosophical or political statement. It was just a practical and frugal one.

"I don't think so many people used credit cards back then," Susan said of the early days. "And plus, Bern was very tight, and he wasn't giving up not a penny."

When you have a card reader, she noted, you have to pay the credit card company.

So cash-only it remained through the 1970s, '80s, '90s and well into the 2000s.

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