Geno's Steaks, Philadelphia cheesesteak staple, opens location in Baltimore

A Philadelphia cheesesteak staple is now open in downtown Baltimore. Geno's Steaks, a popular cheesesteak restaurant, has a 6,000-square-foot space situated at Power Plant Live!

The restaurant's owner, Geno Vento, was in Baltimore on Thursday as the doors opened to the public for the first time.

"This is like an entertainment capital over here, with cheesesteaks and the bar scene and the tourism and the crowd, it was a win-win situation," Vento said.

Baltimore's new restaurant features Geno's popular menu of fan favorites, including cheesesteaks, hoagies and more.

This is the first Geno's Steaks in Maryland, and only the second outside of Philadelphia. The other location is in Hampton, Virginia.

The Baltimore restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

History of Geno's Steaks

Geno's Steaks was started by Joey Vento on 9th and Passyunk in South Philadelphia in 1966.

"At the time, there was a Jim Steaks and a Joe Steaks. So, he saw on the wall in graffiti, Gino, but he changed the i to an e, because there was already a Gino Hamburger," said Geno Vento. "So, basically, I am named after a wall."

The business was taken over by his son Geno Vento in 2011.