A Philadelphia hoagie shop that’s been a fixture on 11th Street for over 100 years is expanding.
Ricci’s Hoagies, owned by Michael Pagliarella, who has led the shop for more than 20 years, is opening a smaller outpost and has several franchise locations in the works.
The smaller, family-owned store will open at 424 East Girard Ave., and Pagliarella told What Now Philadelphia it’s expected to welcome customers next month.
“It’s a different concept. It’s not something we would normally do,” he said. “We’re known for our assembly-line style, where people come in, they slice the meats fresh in front of you, and everything’s prepared in front of you. This store is going to be more third-party app–driven and delivery-focused. It’ll serve as a microkitchen.”
Franchise locations are set to open in West Philadelphia, Lancaster and Delaware. Ricci’s is also planning to expand out of state, with a location coming to Charlotte. The brand already operates a franchise at 1825 Callowhill St., where Pagliarella remains a partner.
“They brought me in from an expertise standpoint, making things stay consistent. We’re actually turning that location into a training hub for other franchisees. They’ll be able to go to 11th St. to see the history of the brand and where we’ve started and then Callowhill St. to show where the store is going and what their store is going to look like,” Pagliarella said.
The shop prides itself on authentic hoagies made with Liscio’s bread, hand-sliced meats and fresh vegetables. Favorites include the classic Italian, American, veggie and chicken cutlet hoagies.
“We’re always known for our old-fashioned Italian hoagie. I think nobody does what we do with our sharp provolone—the way we cut it, chop it up, it basically becomes granular, and then we spread it across the meat on top with some roasted peppers,” Pagliarella said.
He continued, Our classic turkey, honey turkey, black pepper turkey—those are our bread and butter. I think if people want that childhood-nostalgia, turkey-and-cheese, going-to-school feeling, but now, going to work, they come to us.”
Pagliarella said the West Philadelphia franchise is expected to debut within the next six months, with the other locations to follow. Visit the shop’s website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook for updates on all the new locations.
