Philadelphia — Bistec con queso? Not at Geno's Steaks.
An English-only ordering policy has thrust one of Philadelphia's best-known cheesesteak joints into the national immigration debate.
Situated in a South Philadelphia immigrant neighborhood, Geno's - which together with its chief rival, Pat's King of Steaks, forms the epicenter of an area described as "ground zero for cheesesteaks" - has posted small signs telling customers, "This Is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'SPEAK ENGLISH."'
"They don't know how lucky they are. All we're asking them to do is learn the English language," said Geno's owner Joseph Vento, 66. "We're out to help these people, but they've got to help themselves, too."
Vento, whose grandparents struggled to learn English after immigrating from Sicily in the 1920s, said he posted the sign about six months ago amid concerns over immigration reform and the increasing number of customers who could not order in English when they wanted Philly's gooey, greasy specialty - fried steak, sliced or chopped, in a long roll, with cheese and fried onions.
Angelica Marquez, left, collects her order this week as Cathy Merlino is seen behind a sign telling customers they must order in English at Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia. By posting signs telling customers they must order in English, Geno's owner Joseph Vento has drawn his restaurant and its signature sandwich into the eye of a political hurricane.
Of course, it's not as if native Philadelphians speak the King's English either. A Philadelphian might order a cheesesteak by saying something like, "Yo, gimme a cheesesteak wit, will youse?" ("Wit," or "with," means with fried onions.) To which the counterman might reply: "Youse want fries widdat?"
The traditionally Italian community near Geno's has become more diverse over the decades. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America have moved in, joining longtime residents and young professionals seeking reasonably priced rowhouses. In the past 10 years, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Mexican immigrants - many of them here illegally, community leaders say - have settled in South Philly.
Vento said his staff is glad to help non-native speakers order in English and has never turned someone away because of a language barrier.
But the policy has "really upset a lot of a people," said Brad Baldia of Day Without An Immigrant, a coalition of immigrant groups. "For some people, I think we're just going to say, 'Le gusta Pat's."'
Juntos, a Hispanic neighborhood organization, said it plans to send people to Geno's to try to order in Spanish and may pursue court action, depending on what happens.
"His grandparents encountered the same racism and the same xenophobia," said Peter Bloom, the group's director. "Why would he begin that process over again?"
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Confrontation (anonymous) says…
"has posted small signs telling customers, "This Is america: when ordering 'speak english."'
Okay, so is the sign also posted in Spanish? If they can't read the sign, then how do they follow the orders?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
I would say that if they had any hispanic customers before this, they now have very few if any, whether or not they speak any English.
SpeakEnglish (anonymous) says…
Hahahahahahaha!
Way to go!
Smart move.. Look at all the free advertising he gets, from all the liberal news outlets reporting how this is somehow a bad or wrong thing!
They unintentially are advertising his store for the average sane American that believes you should speak english in America.
I wish he had an online store, I would try to support him and buy something!
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
hey the new reform bill says learn to speak english so.....
coco (anonymous) says…
Way to go Geno!!! I'm sick of people from Mexico coming over here thinking we owe them something! Too bad your 'competition' doesn't have the balls to stand up for america!
Toni (anonymous) says…
Go Geno! I used to live in Philly, and I miss the steaks. This story has made it to a small town in rural Montana. We support you! If you live in the USA, and want to become a citizen you need to speak english! or Do YOU? They have to learn the language sometime, if they want to stay here and become successful Why not teach them the fine art of English in this unique way.
Stay Strong!
Toni Faranca Sexton
WalterStarr (anonymous) says…
Way to go Geno, the south is with you, keep up the good work