Last July, 2nd Street cheese steak stalwart The Philly Way was forced to close its doors after 16 years in business. Owner Dave London said the 405 S. 2nd Street property was sold and the building’s new owner planned to increase the restaurant’s rent by 50 percent, which ultimately resulted in the closure of the cheese steak establishment’s first and only remaining location.
Instead of calling it a day after his flagship spot closed (as well as past locations on Brady Street and on Packard Avenue in Cudahy), London is setting sights on new digs for The Philly Way, with the possibility of more locations down the line. He just needs some help to do it.
Last week, London started a GoFundMe campaign to help speed up the process of reintroducing Milwaukee to The Philly Way of life. After searching for investors and taking customer input, London—who claims The Philly Way’s abrupt closure nearly caused him to go bankrupt—ultimately decided to seek assistance through crowdfunding.
“I’m looking to open at least one location right now, get that up and running, and I’ll think about other locations,” London says. “Right now, I need to put money together. Our Facebook page has thousands of hits and questions regarding when we are going to reopen. Customers had suggested GoFundMe, that’s why we have the page.”
London has set a $30,000 goal. A week after the GoFundMe was created, the campaign has raised $270 in donations. There are no donation perks, unless helping to revive Milwaukee’s best cheese steak place counts as a perk.