Ishkabibble's: Further staking his claim on South St.

We always hear about the shiny, new food companies. The Spot is a series about the Philadelphia area's more established establishments and the people behind them.

Did Ishkabibble's invent the chicken cheesesteak? Current owner Young Ahn isn't entirely sure. It's definitely part of the legend of the pink-and-yellow steak shop, which has operated out of a tiny storefront at 337 South St. since 1979. (There's also now a much larger, second location up the street at 517 South St.) Although he did become friendly with original owner Bart Brown after he bought the place in 2001, Ahn never directly posed the question.

Attention to detail - using fresh chicken and good beef, for example, at Ishkabibble's - is something Ahn learned to prize during three decades of retail experience. In 1974, he landed in Cherry Hill on an invitation from his brother, who had emigrated from South Korea a few years earlier. He enrolled in Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and got a degree in business marketing.

He tried his hand at a variety store, then partnered with relatives to open a deli in Manhattan. But he and his young family missed the relative calm of South Jersey. They moved back, and Ahn opened a shoe store in North Philly.

For almost nine years, he sold shoes and sneakers at the corner of 22nd Street and Indiana Avenue, but the area was plagued by crime. After one too many robberies, during which Ahn had guns held to both his temple and his stomach, he got out.

At the time, Ishkabibble's was owned by Michael Riverso, who'd bought it from Brown in 1998. A fine-dining chef who also had an upscale restaurant in Bella Vista (currently Coeur), Riverso had decided that he wasn't interested in continuing to play the cheesesteak game. Ahn swooped in.

He set about trying to rebuild the business. He researched the origin of the name, and discovered it was a Yiddish saying meaning, "Do I look like I care?" that was brought into popular culture as the nickname of Merwyn Bogue, an Big Band-era comedian and trumpet player from Erie, Pa. (Bogue's bowl haircut was the inspiration for Ishkabibble's beanie logo.)

South Street had its ups and downs, but cheesesteaks and chicken cheesesteaks continued to sell. Ahn badly wanted to expand - he got frustrated seeing big groups head elsewhere when they couldn't squeeze onto the shop's nine stools. In 2013, his Realtor pointed him to the corner of South and Randolph, where a series of pizzerias had failed to take hold. The space was larger than Ahn really wanted - more than six times his original shop - but he decided to take a chance.

Two years later, Ahn said, Ishkabibble's II is doing solid business, and the original is still going strong. After a surprisingly busy Labor Day weekend, bolstered by crowds from Made in America, Ahn took a few minutes to sit at one of the bright yellow booths in his new location, and talk about how he landed in the cheesesteak biz.

How did you end up in Philadelphia?

I came from South Korea in 1974 at the invitation from my brother - I was 22 years old. First thing, I knew I needed to improve my English. So I took some ESL courses at the branch of Glassboro State College in Camden, and then I decided to go to full time. I got a degree in business marketing - it was useful for some basic knowledge, but the reality of business is certainly very different from what I learned in textbooks.

What was your first business?

A variety store. Then I moved to Manhattan - to go into business with my relatives for around three years. It was a deli on 44th Street, right by Times Square, and it was crazy. I had no personal life. At the time I had two young kids - one was 2 years old, and one was a newborn. My wife and I decided Times Square wasn't the place to raise kids. So we came back to Cherry Hill and I opened a shoe business.

Where was the shoe store?

In North Philly - it was kind of a rough neighborhood, 22nd and Indiana.

South Street can get rough too, sometimes?

South Street is busy, but it's not like that. I had to put my life on the line, sometimes. I got robbed a couple times. One time at gunpoint - with one gun held right to my temple and another gun at my stomach. I can still feel that metal sensation at my temple - whenever I talk about this I get chills. Not too long after that, I decided to sell the store and get out.

Then you found Ishkabibble's?

At the time, my two kids were grown and about to go to college, so I needed some sort of secure income. The food business was appealing for a few reasons: number one, I knew it better. Number two: it is rewarding, if you work hard. Also, it's less risky. You bring in ingredients, prepare them, and sell it. It's not like a fashion business that one year people like black and the next year they like pink. [In food], you don't have much money tied in inventory, like in clothing or sneakers.

Why was the owner of Ishkabibble's selling?

The store was busy, but the owner also had a sit-down, upscale Italian restaurant at 8th and Christian, and that's where he spent most of his time. So Ishkabibble's had like absentee management. It wasn't running properly. They had around 19 violations from the Health Department when I took it over.

You kept the menu the same?

I kept the menu the same pretty much, about 90 percent. Just a few things that weren't making money, I dropped.

What were the best sellers? Are they the same?

Yes, they're the same. Chicken cheesesteak, South Philly chicken cheesesteak (with spinach, roasted peppers and provolone), beef cheesesteak, and the South Philly cheesesteak.

How do people hear about your cheesesteaks?

Mainly word of mouth. I sometimes do advertising in the small local papers. I'm not really from the computer era - I should be doing some more online or on Facebook and Twitter. But I keep saying this to potential customers, or whenever I have an interview: I think Ishkabibble's cheesesteak could be number one if they had a blind test with Jim's, Pat's and Geno's. I'd come up on top every single time. You know why?

Why?

Because we cook every cheesesteak to order. Some of those other places, they just have a big pile of meat sitting there, and then they put the cheese on top and the onions or mushrooms or whatever on top of that. So when you eat it, you get all onions in one bite, all meat in the other, and some of the cheese doesn't even melt. Here, we mix it all together on the grill - it's more flavorful that way.

You offer more topping choices, too.

I developed an ordering system - I had special pads printed up. When a customer approaches and gives their order, the person just has to circle different choices - ketchup, mayo, pickles, mustard, lettuce, tomato, onions, roasted peppers, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, salt, pepper - everything. So it's easier than writing. It helps us do it fast, and with less mistakes.

It's important to be fast. On a busy night, how many cheesesteaks do you sell?

That's something I can't say. But we go through a lot of orders.

Why open a second location?

I had always wanted a bigger place. It was hurting me seeing potential customers leaving. A group of 12. A family with kids. But I couldn't expand that original location. Neither one of my next-door neighbors - they're both jewelry stores - wanted to sell. Then this spot came up, around 3 years ago.

It was a pizzeria, previously?

A long time ago, it was a combination KFC/Taco Bell. That closed, and a pizzeria called Venuto came. They lasted three years or something. Then, Joey's Pizza. I hesitated to take it for many reasons. Number one, it was too close to my original location. I wasn't sure whether if I opened up, it would hurt the original. Secondly, this was too big for me.

But you took it anyway?

I talked to my wife about it, and she was fairly skeptical. She said: "You and I are at the age to protect what we have, rather than risk it. Because if it doesn't work out, we might have to live on the street. Because Social Security won't support us."

Which is kind of true. But I told her, "You know what, I was born under the sign of the dragon, and I think I still have something in me to thrive, to take a risk one more time." So she was convinced.

Did you do a lot of renovations?

Yes. Originally I planned for the construction to take 3 months. That went into 6 months, because - just my luck - when I was about to go file for the permits, the Market Street incident took place, the building next to the Salvation Army collapsed. So the L&I panicked, and was basically shut down for a while, so to speak. It wasn't actually shut down, but it was very, very tough to get even a simple permit.

Finally, I opened at the beginning of February 2013. And then that winter was cold - brutal. It was long and harsh and there was a lot of snow. So I was worried. It made me very worried. But now, I'm actually exceeding my 6-month and year projections. It's going in the right direction.

What's the hardest thing about running Ishkabibble's?

Long hours. It's 8:30 to 11 on weekdays and 8:30 to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. When I only had one store, I worked 5 days, because I had a great staff. But after I opened a second location, many times I work 7 days. And even if I'm not here in person, from the time the store is open to the time it closes, I have to be on alert every second. The second shift doesn't come in, or there's trouble with the credit card machine, or there's drunk people
...

Does that happen a lot on South Street, drunk folks?

Not a lot, but things go on.

Do you think South Street is going in a good direction right now?

I think it's improving.

What would you do to improve it more, in an ideal world?

We need unique, independent stores to open here, rather than chain restaurants. Food is fine - I'm not saying I don't like chains because they're competition. It's just that you can get that food anywhere. That's what South Street used to be - custom crafts places and restaurants and artists. We need to bring that back. That will bring back the crowds.

Ishkabibble's: 337 South St., 215-923-4337

Ishkabibble's II: 517 South St., 215-922-0494

Hours (both locations): 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday