Donkey's Place
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Donkey's Place is a restaurant and bar founded in 1943 in the Parkside neighborhood of
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
, which sells various sandwiches. The deli is known for its
hoagies 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 "submar ...
and
cheesesteak A cheesesteak (also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheesesteak sandwich, cheese steak, or steak and cheese) is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of beefsteak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. A popula ...
s.


History

Chick's was founded in 1943 at 1223 Haddon Avenue in Camden by Leon "Donkey" Lucas and his wife. The restaurant has remained in the same location since its establishment. Leon, a former boxer, received the nickname "Donkey" due to his punch being compared to the kick of a mule. Donkey's is known to serve its cheesesteaks on large
kaiser roll The Kaiser roll ( ; "Emperor roll"; ; ; ), also called a Vienna roll (), a hard roll or, if made by hand, also , is a typically round bread roll, originally from Austria. It is made from white flour, yeast, malt, water and salt, with the top s ...
s instead of long
hoagie roll In American usage, a hoagie roll or hero roll is a type of long roll used to prepare hoagie sandwiches. Hoagie rolls are sometimes toasted before being used to prepare a sandwich. Ingredients used in hoagie roll preparation may include flour, e ...
s, and to use white
American cheese American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from Cheddar cheese, cheddar, Colby cheese, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mi ...
exclusively rather than giving customers a choice of American,
provolone Provolone (, ) is an Italian semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It is an aged ''pasta filata'' ('stretched-curd') cheese originating in the Campania region, near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes long. P ...
, or
Cheez Whiz Cheez Whiz is a brand of processed cheese sauce and spread produced by Kraft Foods. It was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman (1915–2007). It was first sold in 1952, and, with some changes in formulation, continues to ...
. Leon died in 1971, ownership of the restaurant passed to his son, Robert A. "Bob" Lucas. In 2015, Donkey's Place was featured on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown''. Bourdain said Donkey's Place had his favorite
cheesesteak A cheesesteak (also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheesesteak sandwich, cheese steak, or steak and cheese) is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of beefsteak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. A popula ...
and considered it better than cheesesteaks from
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 ...
. Bob died of lung cancer on July 31, 2015. Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, said in a statement he "will always be remembered" and "Donkey’s Place is truly an institution in Camden and is beloved by generations of residents". Ownership was passed to his son, Robert Lucas Jr.


See also

*
List of submarine sandwich restaurants The following is an incomplete list of notable submarine sandwich restaurants. A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, wedge, hoagie, hero, gyro, grinder, baguette, or one of many regional naming variations, is a sandwich that consists of a lon ...


References


External links

* {{Cheesesteak 1943 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Camden, New Jersey Restaurants established in 1943 Restaurants in New Jersey