Cheesesteaks, Tastykakes and water ice made their grand entrance to Baton Rouge on Saturday with the opening of eatery Everything Philly, located at 3260 Highland Road, Suite 6.
Before the ribbon cutting, the building was blessed and declared as a place for eating and fellowship. Co-Owners Ameen Walker and Tyrus Thomas, along with Mayor-President Kip Holden, cut the ribbon, inviting the community into their small taste of Philadelphia.
“Being a part of this has been a great experience,” chief operating officer Ashley Smith said. “To see it go from paper to a building has been amazing.”
Employees passed out Everything Philly backpacks, complete with a magnet, sunglasses, a cup, a pen, a koozie and a reward card. The restaurant also had 501 giveaways up for grabs. Everything Philly merchandise, discounts, menu items and free pizza for a year were all given away.
The business had a cart set up outside, with original Philadelphia water ice available to customers. Water ice, similar to sorbet, was available for guests in a variety of flavors including mango, blue raspberry and salted caramel.
“We’ve been planning for months,” Smith said. “We’ve spent a lot of time researching, marketing and finding the right products and vendors.”
Thomas said he is overwhelmingly grateful for his team’s hard work throughout this process. He explained that much more goes into the creation of a restaurant than people might expect.
“[The team] did everything from ordering furniture, to writing handbooks and guidelines,” Thomas said. “They put everything together — decor, business logos, interior design. They flew to Philly and tried different meats, water ices and pizza.”
Everything Philly also specializes in stromboli, funnel cakes and hot dogs. Paying homage to Philadelphia, the restaurant gives Louisianians a strong feel for the city and even provides a timeline of Philadelphia’s foods at each table — citing the founding of Tastykakes, cheesesteaks and their own restaurant as noteworthy events.
“We look forward to bringing the Philly style of food to Baton Rouge,” Smith said. “We’re thinking about expanding nationwide. We’re hoping to keep the customers coming in so we can grow and expand.”
Thomas reiterated this dream. He said the ultimate goal is to franchise the Everything Philly brand and company.
Conveniently located right off campus, the restaurant hopes to cater to students and accepts TigerCASH as a form of payment. Everything Philly is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 a.m.
“When I was at LSU, this wasn’t the scene we saw,” Holden said. “We never had anything that expands to the level that this does.”
Holden ordered a Philly cheesesteak with the works. He lauded the restaurant for its authenticity and said he’d be coming back.
Thomas explained the food takes time to cook and might be a little different for people who aren’t used to the Philly style. He stated that the opening went well, however, he noted that some of the customers seemed impatient with the wait time.
“We pride ourselves on the authenticity of the Philly experience,” Thomas said. “We never promoted ourselves as fast food, because it’s not fast food. A lot of work goes into it. This is the struggle in a fast food nation, but I think the atmosphere that we maintain will balance out the wait time.”

Gallery • 9 Photos

Anjana Nair

Louisiana businessman Ameen Walker hosts a grand opening at his new, authentic Philadelphia-styled restaurant called Everything Philly, located on Highland Road, on April 2, 2016.