Cheesesteak War in Philly

Joseph A. Slobodzian, reporting for The Philadelphia Inquirer:

This morning, Rick Olivieri kept his word and started cooking steaks, despite a possible eviction threat.

Yesterday, he left his corner of the Reading Terminal Market without a lease, at times fighting tears, and promising to be behind the grill at Rick’s Philly Steaks today.

Olivieri’s family has been at this location in Reading Terminal for 25 years, and, in my expert opinion, Rick’s makes the best cheesesteaks in town. They lost their lease not because they can’t pay, but because Olivieri is the president of the Reading Terminal Market merchants association, and the board offered a lease for his space to cross-town archrival Tony Luke’s.

Tony Luke’s makes a good sandwich, but this is despicable.

★ Thursday, 2 August 2007