By the time Cinco de Mayo rolls around, however, there's gonna be more room for the inebriated crowd to scarf down after-hours eats because the establishment is relocating one block west to Craftsman Court.
Over the next few weeks, Owner Aaron Link will move the Philadelphia Sandwich Company from its current spot at Fifth Avenue and Scottsdale Road over to the space formerly occupied by nightclub The White House, which closed in December. The new location will open on May 5, just in time to serve up its greasy signature cheesesteaks to Cinco revelers that will crowd neighboring bars like Dos Gringos and BS West.
The patriotic theme and portico columns of the old White House (which resembled the official presidential residence) seems like a fitting space for the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, which features the Liberty Bell in its logo. Link says the new location for his sammy shack also offers 4,000 square feet (triple the size of its current digs), which means room for more seating and a bigger kitchen.
As such, he's planning on expanding the PSC's menu to include soups, pasta dishes, and a greater variety of sandwiches. They'll keep their selection of traditional Philly-style fare as cheesesteaks drenched in Cheez Whiz and fried onions, as well as the pizza steaks, grinders, and meatball subs.
"We're going to branch out from just doing quick serve sandwiches because we've got room for two dozen tabletops," he says. "In Scottsdale, not everyone wants to eat a foot-long cheesesteak. We get a lot of requests for cheesesteaks on a wheat roll. I'm not going to do that, but I am gonna offer a honey wheat wrap with turkey or a chicken Caesar or stuff like that."
He also plans to install a 24-hour coffee and espresso bar and possibly secure a liquor license at some point in the future.
"We're just going to be expanding things, that's all," he says. "We're still going to be 24-7, we're still going have a DJ here on the weekend, and will keep things mostly how they are."
That includes keeping the hundreds of dollar bills that have been decorated by patrons customers and placed on the walls of PSC's current spot over the past seven years. Some of the old bills will be placed underneath the tabletops of the new location, while others will adorn the walls.
"There's so much space and 20-foot ceilings at the new place that we'll have enough room for probably a hundred G's worth of dollar bills," he says.
In other words, be sure not to blow all your singles on cheap hooch when you're out clubbing in Old Town.