Josh Longo
In a way, Josh Longo kidded his way into the cheesesteak business.
Some eight years ago, he served as manager for the Zeroday Outpost in Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market. While he worked, Longo often teased Lou Lerant, owner of The Harrisburger stand, letting him know he needed to add cheesesteaks to the menu.
“[He was] like, ‘You know what, if you want to sell cheesesteaks so bad, you should buy my stand,’” Longo recalled. “So, we purchased that stand from him.”
After six years, The Cheesesteak Guy moved across the river, settling into a new location at West Shore Plaza in Lemoyne. From there, Josh and Keri Longo serve Philly-style cheesesteak sandwiches, burgers and breakfast sandwiches.
“I’ve always loved to cook, and I love the idea of it,” Longo said. “I have family that has a background in the restaurant industry, but I didn’t know that I’d be owning a restaurant now.”
The move from the market didn’t come easily.
“We made it through COVID, the fire, and then when the opportunity came up to get our own brick-and-mortar, we just kind of took it,” Longo said. “We have strong ties to Midtown Harrisburg, and that was our first home. It was very emotional for us to leave there.”
Russell Swanger has been a loyal customer since their days at the Broad Street Market.
“Once I [tried the cheesesteaks], my search in the Harrisburg area for a steak that is just like the best in Philly was over,” Swanger said. “Even open just three days a week, I was there one [or] two times per week, sometimes all three days. [It’s] that good.”
Swanger’s preference: a regular cheesesteak, but with a different style of cooper cheese each time. To further add variety—sometimes a seeded roll, sometimes not.
“[It’s] a mood thing for me,” he said.
In addition to the classic shaved ribeye and Cheez Whiz, The Cheesesteak Guy features creative spins to its menu staples with limited-time rotating specials like the cacio e pepe cheesesteak, peanut butter and jelly burger and Greek-inspired burgers, among others. Menu development looks like “a lot of sandwich eating,” according to Longo, who aims to flex his culinary muscles by testing new flavors on customers with rotating specials.
The company typically uses local and regional vendors when making their “handcrafted handhelds,” as Longo refers to them.
“We get fresh rolls in every day from two different bakeries, one in Jersey and one in Philadelphia,” Longo said. “Our sourdough bread and hamburger buns also come from a third different bakery in Philadelphia every day. We source our meats locally, [and] we really harp on freshness. Everything we do is made to order and the top quality that we can get.”
Each meal is ordered and served via counter service, with both indoor and outdoor seating options. For a guest visiting the shop for the first time, Longo recommends tasting the tried-and-true cheesesteak, but notes that this is only one of many options available to customers.
“We’re obviously The Cheesesteak Guy, so people come in specifically for cheesesteaks, which is a great start,” he said. “But I mean we do different kinds of burger specials every week.”
A Greek burger with fresh lamb is one of his popular rotating specials.
“A Cuban is a really big seller,” he said. “It’s kind of a nod to where Keri and I are from.”
The Longos lived in south Florida and moved to PA about a decade ago to be closer to family. As they began getting their restaurant off the ground, they realized that the area was a welcoming place for entrepreneurs.
“We liked it up here when we started visiting,” Longo said. “Harrisburg was such a nurturing community for small business owners.”
Swanger, for one, is glad they made the leap.
“[I’m] so grateful this place exists,” he said. “I recall when they were the only game in town back in the market days. You can see copycat-style places popping up all over the place, but none of them are even close to the quality—fan for life here.”
The Cheesesteak Guy is located at 1200 Market St., Lemoyne. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
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