{"id":198403,"date":"2026-05-21T00:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/198403\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T00:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:55:07","slug":"owner-of-iconic-pats-cheesesteaks-in-philly-forced-to-work-in-ny-over-knicks-bet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/198403\/","title":{"rendered":"Owner of iconic Pat’s cheesesteaks in Philly forced to work in NY over Knicks bet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The boss of Philadelphia\u2019s Pat\u2019s King of Steaks wore a \u201cPhilly Sucks\u201d T-shirt and worked at a Long Island eatery Wednesday after betting against the red-hot New York Knicks.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pat\u2019s owner Frank Olivieri worked at cheesesteak joint Dario\u2019s in West Hempstead to make good on a wager he made as the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers faced off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals \u2014 with New York eventually bludgeoning its way to a sweep.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m over here, and I\u2019m having a ball. I\u2019m sweating my butt off in the kitchen, making cheesesteaks,\u201d Pat\u2019s owner Frank Olivieri told The Post, admitting he\u2019s now pulling for New York to finish the job.<\/p>\n

Frank Olivieri, the owner of Pat\u2019s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, worked a shift at Dario\u2019s on Long Island to pay off a bet he made against the New York Knicks. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Oliveri at Dario\u2019s with owners Louis Cretella (left) and Dario Carosi. The Philly fan bet the two diehard Knick supporters that the 76ers would beat New York in the second round of the playoffs. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they beat the Sixers, they should definitely win the Finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bet came as Dario\u2019s and other spots temporarily banned \u201cPhilly cheesesteaks\u201d from their menus, with the restaurants owner and Knicks season ticket holder Louis Cretella rebranding their sandwich the \u201cPhilly sucks\u201d cheesesteak<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The name went out on DoorDash menus on its way to going viral. It eventually caught the attention of Olivieri, whose family takes credit for inventing the cheesesteak. He placed the bet with Cretella while Philly was down 2-0 in the series, hopeful the perennial underdog would rise from the canvas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re used to saying \u2018maybe next year,\u201d Olivieri woefully said. <\/p>\n

Dario\u2019s changed the name of their cheesesteak to the \u201cPhilly sucks\u201d cheesesteak to support the Knicks during the series. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Oliveri had to don a \u201cPhilly Sucks\u201d shirt during his shift at Dario\u2019s. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

But he showed nothing but brotherly love while keeping his word after a mid-day ride up I-95.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a real gentleman since he got here. We\u2019ve been busting his chops for at least an hour,\u201d Cretella said. \u201cHe just takes it in stride, laughs, keeps going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olivieri even invited the staff down to his Jersey Shore house and couldn\u2019t help but be happy inside the Long Island spot, which was packed with Knicks faithful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve cooked for presidents \u2026 this was the best event I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dario\u2019s sold close to 200 cheesesteaks for the three hours while Olivieri was slicing away, making both Pat\u2019s and Dario\u2019s style steaks: cheese whiz for true Philly style and Cooper sharp cheese for LI\u2019s finest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the wildest lunch rushes we\u2019ve ever had,\u201d said Cretella. \u201cEnergy for the Knicks is off the chart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adelphi professor Zachary Pournazari, who first heard about the \u201cPhilly Sucks\u201d steak in The Post, risked being late to administer a final because he had to have one while sporting a Jalen Brunson jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the Philly fans bringing their culture here, it\u2019s nice being able to enjoy their culture \u2013 just like how we got to enjoy the four-game series against them,\u201d he said with a cheek-to-cheek smile. \u201cAny student wearing a Knicks jersey gets a bonus point today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

College professor Zachary Pournazari (in Brunson jersey) risked being late to a final exam to get his cheesesteak. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Oliveri preps a Philly cheesesteak \u2014 which his family claims to have invented. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

A crowd of hungry Knicks fans wait for the orders on Wednesday. James Messerschmidt for the NY Post<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only academic with a running case of Knicks fever \u2014 especially after the squad took a 1-0 series lead over the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 115-104 overtime barnburner Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Daniel McCabe, principal of Nesaquake Middle School in Saint James, is jamming the classrooms with hoop dreams.<\/p>\n

The diehard changed his the building\u2019s front sign, which usually posts uplifting messages, to read \u201clet\u2019s go Knicks\u201d earlier in the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nesaquake Middle School principal Daniel McCade wears Knicks gear with a student. Obtained by NYPost<\/p>\n

McCabe changed the school\u2019s sign to support the team. Obtained by NYPost<\/p>\n

\u201cBus drivers have given the thumbs up \u2026 but when parents come on and go is when we\u2019re getting the \u2018let\u2019s go Knicks chants,\u2019\u201d said McCabe, a dedicated fan who has been wearing at least four different jerseys to school on game days.<\/p>\n

Students were so excited they had McCabe do one better this week with the sign, changing the message to \u201cGO NY GO NY GO\u201d as a nod to the team\u2019s iconic theme song<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McCabe also declared a blue-and-orange spirit day for\u00a0Thursday, when the Knicks are set to play Game 2 against Cleveland. <\/p>\n

Ralph G. Reed Middle School\u2019s Superintendent Dr. Sharon A. Dungee and principal Anthony Coggiano sportt Knicks gear with a student. Obtained by NYPost<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dress code is rock your absolute best Knicks attire. Nesaquake is bringing the hype,\u201d said McCabe, who is educating kids on his own heroes, the legendary players of the 1990s like John Starks and Patrik Ewing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids and the faculty and staff are getting into it. The energy in the hallways right now is louder than Madison Square Garden.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Central Islip district held a similar energetic spirit day on Tuesday ahead of game one.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That evening, superintendent \u2013 and super fan \u2013 Dr. Sharon Dungee was \u201crunning to her office\u201d while splitting her time between a budget vote and the game 1 thriller.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been long overdue,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The boss of Philadelphia\u2019s Pat\u2019s King of Steaks wore a \u201cPhilly Sucks\u201d T-shirt and worked at a Long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198404,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[838,44852,58133,39663,69,1002,71,70,9284,233,726,80347],"class_list":["post-198403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-food-drink","tag-long-island","tag-metro","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-sandwiches","tag-schools","tag-sports","tag-sports-fans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}