Anthony Blaylock said when he was a child growing up in west Philadelphia, he either wanted to become a corporate lawyer or own a Philly cheesesteak business.
“College didn’t work out for me, so I ended up doing this,” Blaylock said. “Very few people get a chance to live their dream. I thank the Lord, God Jehovah, I was able to live my dream. If I die tomorrow, I had a great life.”
Blaylock opened Big Tony’s West Philly Cheesesteaks in Allen in 2009, followed by locations in Dallas and DeSoto in 2015 and Plano in 2017.
On the menu
Blaylock said his top three selling menu items are their mushroom cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak and the Philly cheesesteak with bell peppers.
“In restaurants in Philadelphia, we don’t put bell peppers on cheesesteaks—we use sweet peppers, cherry peppers and jalapeno peppers,” Blaylock said. “Customers come in looking for bell peppers on a cheesesteak on our menu. We don’t have that, but we’ll add bell peppers to it.”
The menu features 29 types of cheesesteaks including beef, steak, chicken, shrimp, hot pastrami, veggie and black bean cheesesteaks.
The menu also boasts burgers, wings, seafood, salads and more.
Wing basket ($9.75 for 6 wings) comes with fries. (Karen Chaney/Community Impact)“In Philadelphia, we don’t have all this stuff on the menu,” Blaylock said. “I decided to put everything in one store.”
What to expect
In addition to the ambiance being infused with Philadelphia-themed decor including sports memorabilia and framed pictures of the city’s landmarks and celebrities, Big Tony’s has bread delivered twice a week from Philadelphia-based Amoroso’s. The restaurant also serves TastyKake products, an iconic Philadelphia pre-packaged dessert.
Making an impact
Blaylock takes his responsibilities seriously as it pertains to his teenage employees.
“I hire kids who are 16 and 17 years old. I contact their parents, and I keep up with their grades. If their grades are bad, I cut their hours,” Blaylock said. “I try to motivate them and try to be a role model.