Jim's South Street


Jim's South St., formerly apart of the Jim's Steaks franchise, is a Philadelphia restaurant located on South Street specializing in cheesesteaks. The original restaurant chain known as Jim's Steaks was founded in West Philadelphia in 1939, however in 2011 ownership of the location on South Street changed and was later renamed to Jim's South Street.

History

In the 1930s, "Jim and Millie" offered sandwiches from their house in West Philadelphia. In 1939, they converted the house into what would become Jim's Steaks. William Proetto and his brother, Tom, purchased the West Philadelphia location in 1966. In 1976, Proetto and Abner Silver opened its second location on South Street.
Abner Silver took sole ownership of Jim's Steaks on South Street in 2011 after Proetto death. Abner Silver's owned the South Street location until his death from complications of Alzheimer's disease in 2015. Ownership of Jim's Steak on South Street was passed to his son, Kenneth Silver. The name of the South Street location was later renamed to Jim's South Street.
Ken Silver feared the COVID-19 pandemic would change the cheesesteak business forever. After reopening after a 2-month lockdown, crowds were smaller, but better than what Ken expected.

Description

In 2016, NJ.com searched the web and named Jim's South Street one of 10 Philadelphia cheesesteak shops that are worth a visit. Jim's was selected based on winning a series of polls of the readers of the Philadelphia Business Journal, winning "Cheesesteak Madness".
In 2014, while in town for the opening of Ride Along, Kevin Hart and Ice Cube gave away cheesesteaks at Jim's South Street.