Owner Joe Beren
Photos by Tina Garceau
Business owners, no matter their wares, can make themselves weary when engaging in research and development duties. Joe Beren has never found himself fighting fatigue to forge his focus, with 34 years of robust eating as the primary determinant in his mission to make Fat Joe’s, 1618 S. Columbus Blvd., a Pennsport powerhouse.
“Food’s always been in my blood,” the resident of the 3000 block of South Smedley Street said from his thriving space. “My family instilled that in me, and I feel blessed to be able to have taken that passion and made something of it.”
The proprietor has provided fellow South Philadelphians with the fruits of his feasts since 2010, with his establishment’s original location being 2550 S. Third St. In the business since 1997, the year he began assisting at his uncle’s cafe, Beren took the plunge as an overseer early last decade, opening Fat Joe’s Lunch Box on South Sheridan Street and Oregon Avenue. That venture eventually proved too taxing, so he wandered into other work yet came to feel again that the culinary world would best suit him.
“I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy, so I’m fully invested in making my customers happy because if not for them, where would I be?” Beren offered. “Thanks to my background and a ton of time watching The Food Network, I felt I could do things a bit differently than other people because I love variety.”
Inspecting his site’s menu proves that, as it contains so many items, including specialty sandwiches dubbed The Shunk Street Strangler and The Frankensteak, that patrons could easily find themselves constantly saying “That sounds good, too!” when trying to make a selection.
“Food is, or should be, all about imagination,” the energized entrepreneur said of his enthusiasm, which, possibly, by October, will yield Fat Joe’s House, a spot that he hopes will prove a stellar addition to South Philly’s diner scene.
He validates his attraction to ingenuity through the homemade Chubby Cakes, which he characterized as “a late-night kind of thing,” owing to their sales history.
“You’ll have to be in the mood for them,” he said of the cookie- or cereal-crusted sandwiches, “and fortunately for us, everybody loves them. They’re great when you want a munchie item, but regardless of the time of day, I’d say the product speaks for itself. The filling is definitely key, so we give our guests options. Feel free to be as diverse if you make them at home.”
Ingredients:
8 extra large eggs
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 of vanilla (Madagascar)
2 teaspoons of sugar
Nutella, peanut butter, fluff, grape jelly
Butter for the skillet
6 slices of Texas toast
4 cups of ground cookie crumbs or cereal
Directions:
Mix the eggs, heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar together. Dip the toast in the mixture, and cover both sides with the crumbs. Place on a hot, lightly buttered skillet. Cook both sides, and remove. Let the cakes cool, and add your preferred filling(s). ■
Fat Joe’s
Owner: Joe Beren
Opened: 2010
1618 S. Columbus Blvd.
215-389-1333
instagram.com/eatfatjoes
