Mind That Moves

Cheesesteaks in Paradise

Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love”, is famous for many things: the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin, tenacious sports fans, and the beloved Cheesesteak to name a few.  The Cheesesteak is to Philadelphia what the Carne Asada Burrito is to San Diego. San Diego is fortunate to have a little slice of Philly located in the heart of Pacific Beach.

 Step through the doors of Olde City Grill and you’ll find yourself surrounded by all things Philadelphia from the hanging championship pennants to the intoxicating aroma of Cheesesteaks. Growing up in Philadelphia has given owners Kenny Casciato and Zach Cotlerspecial an insight into the proper way to prepare an authentic “Philly” they love so dearly.  

Like America’s original colonies, Olde City Grill has expanded its influence beyond its original settings with the recent acquisition of Effin’s Pub n’ Grill near San Diego State University where you can find their entire specialty Cheesesteak menu.

We picked the brains of these young thirty-year olds Kenny and Zack to give us some insight about the tricks of the trade in running a successful business.

Favorite Happy Hour:
Zach: Shore Club
 Kenny: Hamilton’s in South Park. Don’t go to many happy hours because we are always here.

How long have you been in San Diego?
We’ve been in San Diego for five years. We were bartending in Philly and wanted to venture the world so we rolled the dice and gave San Diego a shot.

Tell us your brief restaurant/bar ownership history?
Opened Sunset Italian Ice, which was a little homemade Italian ice shop in Mission Beach when we first moved out here and then we opened Olde City Grill three years ago. It was really hard to justify having the dessert shop open and also running Olde City at the same time. So we closed Sunset Italian Ice to focus all of our attention on Olde City Grill.

Describe what Olde City Grill is and what you guys pride yourselves in.
When we found the location, we had in mind that we were going to open another dessert shop, but it was so big and couldn’t figure out how to make it work.

When we first moved to San Diego we were of course still holding onto the Philly roots and nobody was making Cheesesteaks and pizza the way we like it. There are other places doing Cheesesteaks, but we wanted to make Cheesesteaks the way we like them. So we put all the food we love all in one menu.

What separates your cheesesteak from all the other Cheesesteaks in San Diego?
You have to have Amoroso rolls, there’s no other option what so ever! We fly in our bread from Philly three days a week. There are other people that use Amoroso rolls, but they’re using a mass produced pre-sliced grocery style roll. We use a specific cheesesteak roll that nobody else in San Diego uses. It’s the exact cheesesteak roll they use in Philly. The meat is American Kobe Beef that comes from Portland, Oregon that is super prime and super tender.

What’s your most popular chesesteak?
We sell 250 cheesesteaks on a busy day! The most popular would probably be the Classic which is your typical Kobe Beef, American cheese, onions and sweetpeppers. But, we have used our culinary backgrounds and made somewhat of a hybrid Cheesesteaks menu.

Being in San Diego, we can play with things and be more imaginative. Half of our steaks are specialty cakes. That’s why we love being here is because we can take the elements of a real cheesesteak and let our imaginations run wild. We have a California Cheesesteak that is similar to the California Burrito and the Triple Bypass which is everything but the kitchen sink, including fried eggs!

Your pizzas are also becoming well known around the city. What’s the secret?
Our pizzas are definitely becoming more popular. When we first opened our sales were probably 90% Cheesesteaks and 10% pizza, but now our pizza is becoming more and more well known. We don’t skimp on anything; similar to our Cheesesteaks. We are using super prime ingredients, one of the best cheeses on the market, we make all of our dough from scratch and all the sauces are made from scratch. We don’t buy the can sauces and dump it in a pot or anything like that. We use very traditional ways of making everything.

I heard the pizza in New York and Philadelphia is so good because of the water? Is that true?
That’s a myth! We took gallons of San Diego water on the plane to Philly to test the water to see if it had an effect on the pizza dough and it came back as having no difference at all.  It took us three years to master the dough.

How’d you guys afford to open Olde City?
Creative financing. We’re fortunate enough to be bartenders and used positive investing through our youth and being smarter than others. .

Has the economy hurt your bars/restaurants?  What major changes have you had to adapt with in order to deal with the struggling economy?
With Olde City, one of the main things is that our Cheesesteaks should really be sold for more than what we sell them for. Our goal was for our ‘quality’ to be way above everyone else in town, but in the same price range. We have taken a bottom line hit a bit, but sales have been great!

What is your greatest business achievement to date?
Surviving the storm! With the economy being what it is, we have grown and become more and more popular.

What makes a bar/restaurant successful?
Attention to detail and having a ‘hands on approach’ to everything! Any day you come here, one of us will always be here. We’re each putting in 80-90 hours between Olde City and Effin’s. We do everything, including delivery.

What makes a bar/restaurant unsuccessful?
Laziness! Also, not putting time in and getting too comfortable. Every year we change up little things, and listen to all of our customers comments. If something isn’t working, we change it up. Also, don’t leave your business up to your hourly employees.

Do you think being on Garnet Avenue hurts or helps your business?
The only thing about being on Garnet is that it’s prime real estate and you have to do the business or it’s not going to work. From Mission to Dawes, there has been about a dozen businesses that have opened and closed their doors since we’ve been in business. Garnet is a proving ground. If you come here and step up to the plate, its like being in the Minor leagues in baseball you can go somewhere else, but you can really prove your business and do really, really well. You need to hit a home run every day on this street because you’ll get blasted if you don’t!

What’s next for you? Do you have immediate plans of opening another bar/restaurant?
Olde City has a great model and we would like to open more locations in the future, but right now we are using a lot of time and energy into Effin’s. We are launching a new menu and are working on turning it into San Diego State’s number one live music venue. There isn’t anyone showcasing the musical talent on campus and giving them an outlet to showcase. So, there is definitely a need.
 
Olde City Grill: 967 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach | 858.483.4624 | OldeCityGrill.com
Effin’s Pub n’ Grill: 6164 El Cajon Blvd, College Area | 619.229.9800 | EffinsPubSD.com

 

“Kenny and I thought of a challenge that would be on the show, Man vs. Food. So we sat down and thought was the most off the wall, insane, over the top sandwich that we can possibly make. So, we came up with the Fat Bastard Challenge”.

Fat Bastard Challenge Ingredients
12” roll
Cheese “Wiz”
Italian Hoagie Cold Cuts: Cappicola, Salami, Prosciutto
Three Fried Eggs
Triple Bypass Specialty Sandwich Ingredients: Kobe Beef, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Meatballs, American Cheese, Grilled Onions, Sautéed Mushrooms
10oz French Fries
Bacon
Provolone Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese

You have to finish 2 Sandwiches (24”)
Time Limit: 1 hour
Restrictions: No going to the restroom. No sharing.  No puking.
Bounty: $500 for the first person to complete the challenge! 70 people have attempted, but nobody has been successful.

 

Olde City Grill: 967 Garnet Ave, Pacific Beach | 858.483.4624 | OldeCityGrill.com

Effin’s Pub n’ Grill: 6164 El Cajon Blvd, College Area | 619.229.9800 | EffinsPubSD.com