PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Longtime Pat’s King of Steaks owner Frank Olivieri Sr. has died, the iconic cheesesteak restaurant announced on Monday. He was 87.
Olivieri was the son and nephew of the two brothers who originally opened Pat’s in South Philadelphia in 1930. Olivieri ran the restaurant from 1968 until 1996, when his son, Frankie Olivieri Jr., took over.
“Under Frank’s leadership, Pat’s grew from a beloved neighborhood institution into an internationally recognized landmark — synonymous with South Philadelphia — and was visited by generations of locals, tourists, celebrities, athletes, and public figures from around the world,” read his obituary.
It also called him a “guardian of tradition” who never lost sight of Pat’s “roots as a working-class, family-run business.”