Fact Check

Did Philly Chefs Create a 510-Foot-Long Cheesesteak Sandwich?

Some complained that the sandwich had separate bread loves, but good luck finding a bread oven that size.

Published May 28, 2021

Miami Beach, Manolo, Argentinean restaurant, cutting cheese steak sandwich. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Getty Images/Stock photo)
Miami Beach, Manolo, Argentinean restaurant, cutting cheese steak sandwich. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Claim:
Philadelphia chefs constructed a 510-foot-long cheesesteak sandwich.
Context

Local chefs made a sandwich that stretched over three city blocks. Although some observed on social media that the massive sandwich wasn't made from a single loaf of bread, we don't know of a bread oven that can make a 510-foot-long sandwich bun.

In late May 2021, friends of a South Philadelphia restauranteur decided to make his birthday one to remember by assembling a massive cheesesteak sandwich feast. News reports said the sandwich was 510 feet long, although some on social media said it was longer.

To celebrate the birthday of Rene Kobeitri, the owner of Rim Cafe in South Philadelphia, local chefs assembled a 510-foot-long chain of cheesesteak sandwiches, which spanned three city blocks.

The Philadelphia Metro newspaper reported that chefs from different types of restaurants constructed an international feast. "For example, Chef Christina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa created a Mexican cheesesteak; Chef Mike McKinley of Yakitori Boy created a Japanese cheesesteak; and Chef Dian Widjojo, owner of Hardena Restaurant, created an Indonesian cheesesteak, to name a few."

Some questioned on social media whether the creation constituted a single sandwich, per se, because photographs showed that it was made out of separate sandwich buns.

To be fair though, we don't know of a way the bread could be one bun without a 510-foot-long bread oven.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and has covered everything from crime to government to national politics. She has written for ... read more