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Tony Luke's is an American-based cheesesteak restaurant that was founded in 1992 by Tony Lucidonio and his sons, Tony Luke Jr. and Nicky Lucidonio at its original location at 39 East Oregon Avenue in
South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...
. The franchise has since expanded, with 16 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, one location each in
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,
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&
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as well as one in
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.


History

In the early 1990s Luke, Jr., his father and his brother, Nicky, bought a property near the expressway in South Philadelphia. The restaurant opened on February 3, 1992. The restaurant did not initially serve cheesesteaks until six months after opening due to popular demand. To avoid competition with other local businesses, the original Tony Luke's stand offered a more diversified menu, offering
hoagie A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Although "subma ...
s and other fare, along with cheesesteaks. Luke Jr. soon took over the store's marketing. Eventually, the business grew to include several locations in the Philadelphia area and a line of frozen sandwiches. Through a partnership with Rastelli Foods Group, the business now has several franchised locations in
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
. On January 21, 2019, the restaurant announced that they will be opening 7 locations in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The first location opened on April 3, 2019 in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
on Flatbush Avenue. In July 2020, the owner Anthony Lucidonio Sr. and his son Nicholas were indicted on federal tax fraud charges. They are accused of failing to report over $8 million of income from 2006 to 2016. They are also accused of paying employees in cash to avoid payroll taxes. The Lucidonios dispute the criminal charges.


Business ventures

In 2008 Tony Luke expanded his franchise to frozen cheesesteaks and pork products known as Tony Luke's Pronto.


In mass media

Tony Luke was selected as Bobby Flay's adversary for an episode of the cooking show '' Throwdown! with Bobby Flay'', with Luke winning the cheesesteak battle. Tony Luke's was featured on the
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's '' Man v. Food'' with Adam Richman attempting the "Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge", which consisted of 42 oz. of
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
, 18 oz. of
cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
, and 8 oz. of
fried onion Fried onions are slices of onions that are either pan fried (sautéed) or deep fried — and consumed as a popular snack food, garnish, or vegetable accompaniment to various recipes. Sautéed onions Common fried onions are cooked by basic pa ...
s on a 20-inch
hoagie A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Although "subma ...
roll. Richman chose American cheese for his cheesesteak while Luke, who also took on the challenge, opted for the more traditional Cheez Whiz on his. Richman succeeded in the challenge while Luke failed. The restaurant was also featured on '' Food Wars'' (hosted by Camille Ford), going head-to-head with Pat's King of Steaks in a battle for best cheesesteak in Philadelphia, with Pat's beating out Tony Luke's in the competition. Tony Luke played host to former
World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decemb ...
Eddie Hall on his visit to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
filming his 2019 series ''Eddie Eats America'' for
UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...
. Luke said Eddie was the fastest eater of the "Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge".


See also

* List of submarine sandwich restaurants


References


External links

* {{Restaurants in Philadelphia Restaurants established in 1992 Submarine sandwich restaurants Restaurants in Philadelphia 1992 establishments in Pennsylvania South Philadelphia