Philadelphia International Airport marked National Cheesesteak Day on Tuesday, March 24, by setting a Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteak sandwiches.
Vendors at the airport laid out 1,200 feet of meat, cheese, and bread — enough to cover four football fields — across the airport’s B/C connector. According to CBS Philadelphia, that amounts to nearly a thousand pounds of ribeye steak and 225 pounds of cheese.
Action News 6abc noted that Amoroso’s Baking Company contributed more than 1,000 rolls. Cooper Sharp brought more than 200 pounds of cheese. Over 900 pounds of chopped beef originated with Philly’s Best Steak. Finally, Chickie’s & Pete’s loaned their kitchen equipment, preparation space, volunteers, and more to make the cheesesteaks.
A Guinness World Record official was present to verify that every single roll was touching for the record to be official: 1,291 cheesesteaks to be exact.
“What I love about this is that it’s so specific to the Philadelphia community,” Guinness World Record adjudicator Michael Empric said in a statement shared with CBS Philadelphia. “To do this in the airport and to donate so many of the cheesesteaks to TSA is really incredible. It’s such a community spirit sort of thing.”
Philadelphia International Airport was chosen to host the event because it has more restaurants offering cheesesteaks under one roof than any other spot in the city. In fact, every terminal at the airport has a place where travelers can wrap their fingers around a cheesesteak, said PHL Marketing and Guest Experience Manager Dana Krawchuk.
Every restaurant that offered cheesesteaks on its menu participated in the Guinness World Record effort. The restaurants included Chickie’s & Pete’s, Geno’s Steaks, Jim’s South St. Famous Cheesesteaks, Passyunk Steaks, Tony Luke’s, and others.