Meat, cheese, and Broadway: Calozzi’s Cheesesteaks rolls onto Capitol Hill

You can now grab a cheesesteak on Capitol Hill. A new food truck parked at the 76 gas station on the north end of Broadway is serving up the Philly-style sandwiches.

The trailer belongs to Juan Avila, owner of the Calozzi’s Cheesesteaks original brick-and-mortar walk-up in Georgetown. Avila purchased the trailer along with its prime North Broadway location from a friend in the food truck business. “He sold me this trailer with the spot,” Avila explained, noting he maintained the existing rental contract with the gas station owners.

The venture grew out of a franchise agreement. After working for Calozzi’s original owner for years, Avila sought to launch his own business. “I talked to him last year… I want to start my own business, and he wants to open as a franchisor,” Avila said. Under the deal, Avila took over the Georgetown shop and brand name while the original owner retained a percentage of profits as a silent partner.

As he looked for where to expand his cheesesteak empire, Avila researched the options on Capitol Hill.

“I’ve been looking at the neighborhood, trying to search for cheesesteaks around, and there is no one,” Avila said. Though he noted demand in areas like the Eastside, North Everett, Issaquah, and Kent, securing this spot decided his current destination.

Open for about a month, Avila is still evaluating the location’s performance. “Sales are slow now, but I will see in the next two or three months if we go up,” he said, adding that sales have picked up noticeably in recent weeks as word has spread.

Calozzi’s menu keeps it simple. Lots of meat. Lots of cheese. Options include American and a recently introduced Cooper Sharp, which has become Avila’s personal favorite. As for the rest, Avila prefers the pepper steak, though the mushroom-topped “Donnie” remains a popular customer choice.

Looking ahead, Avila hopes Capitol Hill is just the beginning. “My plan, God willing, is to open more,” he said, though he plans to monitor the Broadway location’s trajectory before taking the next step.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support