It was founded in 1930 by Italian American brothers Pat and Harry Olivieri, who are credited with the invention of the cheesesteak.

[3][4] The brothers ran the stall while holding down other jobs; Harry worked as a carpenter, while Pat made sleds.

[6] Soon afterwards, at the advice of the cabdriver, the brothers started selling steak sandwiches instead of hot dogs.

Harry worked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II before returning to the restaurant.

[citation needed] In 1972, Harry Olivieri had a heart attack and retired from day-to-day management.

[8] A sign explains how to order; the customer asks for a variety of sandwich and then says "wit" or "wit-out" (i.e. 'with' or 'without' onions), a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Philadelphia accent.

[7] Harry and Frank Sr. kept the original location, and Herbert opened Olivieri's Prince of Steaks in Reading Terminal Market.