GRILLADELPHIA STEAKERY OPENS SECOND LOCATION

The “HOT POUCH” is a hit, first in Fishtown and now
at Fasone’s Bar & Grill in Port Richmond

Philadelphia, PA – Grilladelphia, a relatively new steakery ranked among the region’s best by the Philadelphia Inquirer in April 2002, has opened its second location inside Fasone’s Bar & Grill, at the corner of Ann and Edgemont Streets in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.

To Philadelphia’s crazed cheesesteak enthusiasts, Grilladelphia may seem to have two strikes against it. First, the original Grilladelphia is located inside the Exxon Tigermart at 2330 Aramingo Ave. Second, instead of the traditional hoagie roll found in all of the City’s famous cheesesteaks, Grilladelphia piles its extra-lean, steam-grilled “skirt” steak into a pouch – a high-quality round Italian roll crafted by one of South Philly’s most famous Italian bakeries – cut in half and scooped out to accommodate traditional cheesesteak fillings (the scooped out bread becomes yummy fried garlic balls and croutons for Caesar salad).

Owner Barry Appelbaum, who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, says steam-grilling makes for juicier, “healthier” steak. According to Grilladelphia’s fans, he must be on to something, because the “hot pouch” is earning rave reviews and business is brisk. At the suggestion of customers and employees, he’s added hand-basted, Italian-style pork, steam-grilled chicken or grilled vegetable “hot pouches” to the menu, along with cold pouch sandwiches, breakfast pouches, premium “Fresh-Cut Frys” and even a one-pound cheesesteak. Grilladelphia’s newest location at Fasone’s will also offer Momma Fasone’s famous Wings.

Appelbaum got into the restaurant business when he went looking for a cheesesteak eatery to occupy space in the Exxon Tigermart he owns. When every company rejected his gas station location, he decided to do it himself – and better. Rather than follow the “value pricing” of most convenience store food, he went for top-quality, seeking out only local suppliers and, for instance, testing 30 different varieties of potato for his Fresh-Cut Frys. The Aramingo location is now a cheerful place to get a quick pouch to go, or to eat in at Grilladelphia’s friendly food bar.

Why did Grilladelphia go into Fasone’s rather than open a free-standing restaurant? Appelbaum says that in Philadelphia, every corner has a pizza place that sells cheesesteaks. For his new locations, he’s trying to “think out of the box” and find good fits for the Grilladelphia concept. “Fasone’s is a neighborhood institution that loved our product,” says Appelbaum, “and their customers are now our customers. We became profitable at Fasone’s two weeks after opening.”