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

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

as well as one 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 ...

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

. 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

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

'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

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".

References

External links

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

History

Business ventures

In mass media

See also

References

External links