At Geno’s Steaks, FOP dedicates a plaque to Joey Vento

The aroma of fried onions hung in the air Wednesday as the Fraternal Order of Police dedicated a plaque in front of Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia, memorializing Joey Vento, the controversial cheesesteak magnate and philanthropist, who died Aug. 23.

FOP chaplain Joseph Cella gave the invocation at the ceremony, similar to those given for officers who die in the line of duty.

"It seems quite appropriate in our Catholic, Christian faith, which Joey was raised in, that this, the day we commemorate all souls, we would recognize Joey," Cella said.

Vento, who opened Geno's in 1966, spurred national debate in 2006 when he posted a sign on the window of his shop advising customers, "This is America. When ordering, please speak English."

That brash political statement was all but forgotten on a sun-kissed autumn morning when a racially diverse group of Philadelphia police officers, community members, and students from Annunciation B.V.M. School flanked either side of the restaurant and spontaneously joined in singing "God Bless America" to honor Vento.

A picture of Vento, grinning and wearing a trademark large gold necklace, was displayed in front of the shop on a six-foot-tall poster. A group of 20 Mummers played "When You're Smiling," the song made famous by Louis Armstrong.

Vento, who was 71, was an Army veteran and a hero to the city's first-responders community. He was known to donate a day of his shop's earnings to the families of police officers killed in the line of duty. A large metal plaque bearing Vento's name now joins theirs on the Path of Honor, a trail of bricks bearing the names of fallen officers and firefighters on the sidewalk in front of Geno's.

Michelle Liczbinski, the wife of slain police officer Steven Liczbinski, shot and killed after a bank robbery in 2008, paid tribute to Vento and lunched on a steak sandwich with American cheese and fried onions.

"He did a benefit for us when my husband passed away," Liczbinski said of Vento. "Of course I had to be here for him."

Vento's wife and son, Eileen and Geno, named for the eatery, attended the ceremony and were presented with their own plaque commemorating the patriarch.

"When Joey Vento was born, the mold was broke," Geno said.

John Mello, 59, traveled from his home in Boothwyn to his native South Philadelphia for the ceremony.

A former accordion player for the Philadelphia String Band, Mello bit into his first Geno's sandwich during a snowstorm in February 1968, when he drove his manual-transmission 1956 Chevrolet to the icy corner of Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue.

"From then on," Mello said, "I always went to Geno's."

at 215-854-2917 or reobrien@philly.com.