Anatomy Of A Cheesesteak Story
By serving as a dubious microcosm of the national immigration controversy, for starters. And an excitable interview subject doesn't hurt either.
It's the tale of Joey Vento, the owner of Geno's, a popular cheesesteak shop at "ground zero for cheesesteaks" in Philadelphia. Vento's story trickled out first about two weeks ago in the city's hometown paper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, with an editorial railing against Geno's "boneheaded" new store policy: "Vento insists his customers order in English. No pointing at the menu items. Speak English, a sign at Vento's popular, curbside counter reads."
The Associated Press followed up a few days later with its own piece on the matter: "An English-only ordering policy has thrust one of Philadelphia's most famous cheesesteak joints into the national immigration debate," wrote Patrick Walters, who clued everyone in on just how enticing an object of media attention Joey Vento makes:
Vento, a short, fiery man with a ninth-grade education, arms covered in tattoos and a large diamond ring in his ear, is no stranger to political controversy.And with that, Vento was all over the place – as a symbol of the immigration debate. On June 9, he appeared on "Good Morning America" for an interview. Later that day, he was on Fox News' "Your World With Neil Cavuto," telling the anchor that the sign had been up in his store for six months. "Why all of a sudden it`s a -- it`s a problem, I have no idea," said Vento. The same day on CNN's "The Situation Room," Wolf Blitzer introduced another story with Vento: "The cheesesteak is a symbol of Philadelphia, but now it's a symbol of the battle over illegal immigration as well, and that battle is raging in the City of Brotherly Love," said Blitzer. And by then, anyone watching the news knew about Geno's Steaks – and what kind of role it was playing in the ongoing immigration saga.He sells "freedom fries" to protest France's opposition to the Iraq war. He rails against Mumia Abu-Jamal, the black man convicted of killing police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981 who is a cause celebre of some death penalty opponents. Memorials to Faulkner are posted at his shop.
Wrote The Philadelphia Daily News yesterday: "It started out as a simple sign. But it's touched off an international controversy." The Philadelphia Inquirer today:
"Supporters and the curious are flocking like pilgrims to see signs at the cheesesteak emporium that read: 'This is AMERICA ... WHEN ORDERING, 'SPEAK ENGLISH.''Has the cheesesteak drama really "touched off an international controversy"? "Ignited a nationwide firestorm"? Likely not so much. Is it more engaging than Senate floor debates on immigration? Probably. But by now, the attention may be abating for Geno's Steaks. Vento's son Geno told The Los Angeles Times (in a story on the front page today) that his father is no longer speaking to any newspapers:The small, laminated placards, tucked unobtrusively near the takeout window, have ignited a nationwide firestorm of debate about English, immigration and free speech."
"Joey Vento was taking the day off, his son said, 'resting his vocal cords' after a marathon round of TV interviews. Asked for a comment, Geno Vento replied, 'This whole thing is getting out of hand.'"