Charleys Philly Steaks
Charleys Philly Steaks is an American restaurant chain of Philly cheesesteak stores headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.[1] Formerly known as Charley's Steakery and Charley's Grilled Subs, the franchise was established in 1986 on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and is still headquartered there. There are 600 locations in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam in the United States, as well as stores in 16 other countries.
Private | |
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1986 |
Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
Number of locations | 600 |
Key people | Charley Shin |
Website | charleys.com |
History
While studying real estate at Ohio State University, Charley Shin worked in his mother's Japanese/Korean restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.[2] A wrong turn on a family trip to New York City resulted in Charley's discovery of the Philly cheesesteak. Charley convinced his mother to take a break, sell the restaurant, and invest her life savings of $48,000 in “Charley’s,” a 450-square-foot (42 m2) restaurant across the street from Ohio State's campus. Charley's first decision in the restaurant was to turn the grill around to face the customers, so they could always see their food being cooked, a move that would later become the trademark of the Charley's Philly Steaks chain.[3]
References
- Footnotes
- " Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine." Charleys Philly Steaks. Retrieved on May 28, 2010.
- Chung, Grace. "How A Korean Immigrant Amassed A Food Empire By Serving An American Favorite". Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Fast Casual Charley's Grilled Subs August 27, 2007
- General sources
- Johnson-Elie, Tannette (2006-12-05). "Mixing kindness with business". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
- Naylor, June (2004-02-20). "Charlie's is hot on the grill (free preview)". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Chan, Candy Kit Har (1994-11-25). "Steaking His Claim: Crafty Charley Shin Proves Fast Food, Franchising". AsianWeek. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16.