South Philly SE3

Kerry dePenaloza

Mr. Leake

Writ 1133

16 April 2013

South Philly

            This past Sunday afternoon, a friend and I enjoyed a nice lunch at the location restaurant known as South Philly.  Upon entrance to the establishment, the first thing we walked past was the bar and the bartender was very friendly as we walked in.  After passing the bar, we made our way towards the blown up menu that is on the rear wall, which makes ordering easier.  Seeing as how the restaurant is called South Philly, I most certainly order the delicious Philly cheese steak sandwich that is offered here.  My friend and I then sat down at a table in the middle of the room.  While waiting for the food to arrive, I noticed the type of crowd that was at the restaurant.  There were two groups of four, all young men, eating sandwiches and drinking beer.  This observation led me to believe that this restaurant attracts a younger male crowd for many reasons.  For one, they offer mostly food that is eaten without silverware, there were three different sports being played on their televisions, and the atmosphere in the restaurant has young college male written all over it.

            The food arrived within 10 minutes and it was hot and fresh and extremely delicious.  The French fires I ordered were still sizzling from the fryer and the sandwich was fresh off the grill.  While eating my sandwich, a question came to my mind.  The Philly cheese steak is a famous sandwich with its roots in Philadelphia.  After this realization, I asked myself, “Why are there always Philly cheese steak restaurants outside of Philadelphia?”  With this question in mind, I wanted to do a little research.  In an article by Robin Lee Allen, she talks about the development of the restaurant industry in America.  Among the things she talks about, a section of it is about the infamous Philly cheese steak sandwich.  Allen writes, “Brothers Pat and Harry Olivieri of Philadelphia in 1930 created a grilled-steak sandwich with hot sauce on Italian bread.  A decade later they added cheese, giving birth to the Philadelphia cheese-steak.” She stresses the importance of this sandwich to the restaurant industry in America.  The sandwiches became so famous that they are now “offered widely in sandwich shops and chains nationwide.” (Allen).  This certainly explains why there are places in every city where one can purchase a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  However, to experience the proper sandwich, and Philadelphian will tell you where to go. 

            Something else that I noticed about the restaurant South Philly was the layout of the restaurant.  When one first enters the restaurant, the bar is the first thing they will pass.  Seeing as how this place is a restaurant/bar, why would the bar be the first thing you walk by.  While there, I noticed a group of young men eating food, when they all decided to get some beers from the bar.  This observation was a large part of the second question I asked myself while eating my sandwich.  I wondered if the layout of a restaurant subconsciously makes customers buy certain things.  I wondered if someone comes into this restaurant for a sandwich, how often to they persuade themselves to buy a drink from the bar.  Conversely, if someone comes into the bar for a drink, how often do they persuade themselves to get a sandwich, maybe after a few drinks?  Regardless of what anyone might say, the layout of a restaurant/bar is extremely important to the success of the business.  Most of the time, a place like this will make a solid percentage of their earnings from the bar.  I noticed that the bar had a large amount of specials, which certainly adds to the idea of someone ordering a drink when they only came for food. 

            Some other things I noticed about South Philly were the type of atmosphere they were creating.  They were playing music that was uplifting and enjoyable to listen to, but it was at respectable volume level, which is nice because it is easy to carry on a conversation.  Certainly the time of day, around 2pm on Sunday, was not that perfect time to observe this restaurant in action.  With the lack of people at the restaurant, the staff was not very enthusiastic about working.  However, when the bartender took our orders he was very polite and seemed glad that we had decided to come to South Philly for lunch.  I can imagine that when the restaurant is full of people that it could be a fun place to eat and have a good time.  The atmosphere of the restaurant certainly backs me up when I say that it is a fun place to be and a great place to get a Philly cheese steak sandwich in Denver.

            If you haven’t been to South Philly yet, I would highly recommend it.  The food is delicious and they have such an extensive menu you could eat there many time and not try the same thing once.  I’m glad that I chose this restaurant for my observations.  I have never actually done something like this, but South Philly was a great place because they made it easy to observe the establishment, employees, and customers.