Astra Foods has made a meaty acquisition.
The upper Darby-based meat manufacturer scored the building “wit” Cleavers, a popular cheesesteak shop located at 108 South 18th Street, for $4.6 million, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported, citing property records.
The three-story building, near Chestnut and 18th streets, is at a prime location within two blocks of Rittenhouse Square. Cleavers is jointly operated by the Poulimenos siblings from Astra Foods and Ted and Sav Bouikidis, who own Zesto Pizza & Grill in University City, Roxborough, and Bryn Mawr.
The price is close to the amount paid by Brooklyn developer Brookliv for three nearby vacant parcels on Walnut Street. The property was previously owned by 108 S. 18th Street Acquisition LLC, which acquired it in 2007 for $1.
Although the building was assessed at $1.1 million this year, Astra Foods declined to comment on the acquisition.
Perhaps not as famous as other cheesesteak purveyors like Geno’s, Cleavers is still very much a Philadelphia institution and is frequently mentioned as one of the top cheesesteak joints in the city.
It’s also still a going concern, unlike some former longstanding food businesses in other cities.
Earlier this year, Alleva Dairy at 188 Grand Street in Little Italy, New York, which claimed to be America’s oldest cheese purveyor, closed for good after falling behind on its $23,800-a-month rent, the New York Post reported.
“My store is the oldest cheese shop in America and the heartbeat of Little Italy. We’re a New York institution,” owner Karen King told the paper.
Alleva — whose regulars have included actors Michael Imperioli, Chaz Palminteri and Leah Remini — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September in a bid to restructure its debt, which had ballooned to over $620,000. King couldn’t get a handle on the debt and ultimately decided to close the shop’s doors for good.
— Ted Glanzer