The organizers of Philadelphia’s first ever cheesesteak festival responded to several complaints about the event on social media.
The event took place Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field and featured samples from over 40 different cheesesteak vendors around the city. An estimated 25,000 people attended. Some attendees later claimed on social media however that the lines were too long and there weren’t enough samples.
One attendee who reached out to NBC10 called the event a “cluster mess” and a “complete waste of money.”
“We spent over $80 for two tix and never got to sample one cheese-steak.,” he wrote. “A complete triangulated mess. Way TOO many people with TOO few vendors in a TOO tiny enclosure. After waiting in one line for over an hour, we left the festival and went to South Philly for cheese-steaks instead. I've seen shorter lines and quicker movement at Disney World. So with parking (another$20), plus our two tickets, we spent over $100 to stand in a line, only to leave after an hour wait. For those who couldn't or didn't attend, consider yourselves Lucky.”
The festival’s organizers responded to the complaints in a statement to NBC10.
“This was a first year food festival. Like any other first year event you run into things you can do better,” they wrote. “While there were certainly long lines for Cheesesteaks, the lines were moving and the Cheesesteak Vendors did an excellent job producing a quality product for the attendees to sample. Some Cheesesteak Vendors were busier than others so we see a larger operation for these Cheesesteak Vendors to be an opportunity for improvement next year. We appreciate all the feedback, positive and negative and plan to make adjustments.”
The event featured a sandwich from Steve's Prince of Steaks and Amoroso's Bakery that broke the record for the world's largest cheeseteak, measuring close to 500 feet.
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