Steve's Prince of Steaks extends weekday hours and offers deals for students

After Steve's Prince of Steaks' temporary closure resulted in confusion among students last spring, the restaurant has moved to standardize and extend its hours. 

The restaurant abruptly closed from Jan. 25 to March 11 earlier this year because of a broken exhaust stove, the store's co-partner Jason Magowan said. Students said the restaurant did not provide notice or publicly advertise the closure, and they would often find that the restaurant was closed only after they arrived. The cheesesteak restaurant is located on 39th Street near Hamilton Court.

Steve's will now be open Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant was previously only open until 4 p.m. on weekdays. Steve's is closed on weekends.

College junior Jake Rabinowitz said he went to Steve's multiple times last spring, but always found the lights off, leading him to assume the restaurant was permanently closed.

Magowan said the store will not be closed anymore in the foreseeable future. Steve's signed a 10-year lease in 2018 and will continue its operations until 2028. After that, the restaurant has three five-year options to decide whether or not to continue its operations for the next 15 years. 

Although students welcome the extension, they still remain disappointed that the store is closed on weekends. 

College junior Zack Rovner, a regular customer, said Steve's should extend their hours further. Rovner, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff member, said opening further into the night during weekends would be beneficial because most of the nighttime weekend business comes between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Rabinowitz also said he was disappointed that the store was closed on the weekends. 

In addition to the extended hours, the store plans on implementing new meal deals to students, instead of having all items available a la carte, Magowan said.  

“We are going to start offering a couple different specials that we don’t do at other Steve's,” Magowan said. “So now, we are going to try and adapt to the area a little more on what we are noticing people want.” 

Instead of making students buy cheesesteaks, soda, and fries separately, students can now have fries and soda with their cheesesteak for another $2.25, Magowan said.  

Magowan said the family plans on opening more stores around the wider area, but likely not another location in University City because the area is small and there are many food options. He said they are considering other areas in Philadelphia or suburbs in South Jersey are more realistic destinations.

The store is the fifth location within the family business, Magowan said. At least one partner from the family is present at each store, and all stores are situated in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia suburbs, Magowan said.