A famed Philadelphia cheesesteak shop is reportedly no longer planning a State College location.
Pat’s King of Steaks owner Frank Olivieri told Philadelphia Magazine that he has dropped plans for expanding the restaurant to central Pennsylvania.
Olivieri said he has “simply reconsidered” and wants to focus on major renovations to his South Philly shop, according to the magazine.
No lease had been signed or location finalized for a State College shop, the magazine reported on Monday. Olivieri added that he might consider expansion in the future, but for now it was off the table.
Olivieri revealed earlier this month that he was working with restaurateur Rob Wasserman to open what Philadelphia Magazine described as a “Penn State location.” Wasserman has ties to the State College area as an owner of Snap Custom Pizza and Big Dean’s Hot Chicken.
It would have been Olivieri’s first attempt to expand Pat’s outside of Philadelphia, though other family members had tried unsuccessfully in the past, and he said at the time if it were successful it could lead to other locations around the country.
A spokesperson for Pat’s Steaks told StateCollege.com on Sept. 6 that the company was “not ready to discuss this yet.”
Frank Olivieri’s grandfather Harry Olivieri and great uncle of Pat Olivieri are credited with inventing the Philly cheesesteak in 1930 at the South Philadelphia Italian Market. In 1940, they opened the restaurant on Passyunk Avenue, which remains the only Pat’s King of Steaks and where it has a famed rivalry with neighboring Geno’s.
State College, meanwhile, has welcomed two new Philly cheesesteak purveyors in recent months. Uncle John’s Jawnshttps://www.statecollege.com/articles/community/jawn-artistry-antifragile-brewing-co-expands-into-philly-cheesesteak-market/ started operating at Antifragile Brewing Company, 324 E. Calder Way, in the spring and Campus Steaks opened in August at 119 S. Pugh St.
