Key Takeaways
- Pat’s King of Steaks owner Frank Olivieri offered $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and charging of a customer who threw a cheesesteak at general manager Tom Francano.
- Francano said the man returned about 10 minutes after buying the sandwich, called it “garbage,” and hurled it after other customers defended their food.
- Police are investigating the unidentified customer, who wore a blue Under Armour jacket, black shorts, and red Beats headphones and appeared to carry recording equipment.
Pat’s King of Steaks owner Frank Olivieri wants a name—and he’s offering $5,000 to get it. Surveillance footage captured a customer throwing a cheesesteak into general manager Tom Francano’s face at the South Philadelphia institution on Wednesday, September 30.
Now, according to CBS News, police are investigating, and Olivieri is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest and charges. “He assaulted my employee, so we’ll see how many of his friends that he has online are really his friends, see who’s going to turn him in first,” he said.
The confrontation began with a return trip to the ordering window. Francano said the man bought a cheesesteak, then came back about 10 minutes later with the sandwich opened and a complaint: “This steak’s garbage.”
Francano asked other customers whether their sandwiches were any good. They said they were. “That’s when he got a little pissed off, he got mad, and he picked the steak up and threw it at me,” Francano said.
Olivieri said the footage showed the customer tearing apart the sandwich himself before approaching the window.
The sandwich shop at the center of the investigation has been serving Philadelphia since 1930. Still operated by the Olivieri family, Pat’s King of Steaks traces its beginnings to a hot dog stand where founder Pat Olivieri grilled beef and onions for his own lunch.
A cab driver asked for one, helping turn that meal into a business. The original sandwich didn’t even have cheese; they added it later.
Today, Pat’s and its across-the-street rival, Geno’s, remain two of the most recognizable names in the Philly cheesesteak business.
Francano said the customer also arrived with recording equipment. “He had this phone on, you know, on a pole, taking pictures outside and everything,” he said.
The setup led Francano to suspect the man might be a social media influencer, though his identity and any professional connection to content creation remain unconfirmed.
Francano said he was unhurt. Olivieri, meanwhile, said he had reviewed surveillance footage and made clear that he wanted the customer identified and held accountable for throwing the sandwich at his employee.
The customer was described as wearing a blue Under Armour jacket, black shorts, and red Beats headphones. Anyone with information can contact Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
Olivieri’s message to the unidentified customer was direct: “We’ll find him. $5,000, we’ll pull him out of whatever rock he’s living under right now.”
