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A landmark Philly cheesesteak stand has removed a sign posted a decade ago that told customers to order only in English. Geno’s Steaks in south Philadelphia made headlines in 2006 over a small sign posted at the shop stating, “This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING ‘SPEAK ENGLISH.’” …

PHILADELPHIA - August 23, 2011 (WPVI) -- The owner of the landmark South Philadelphia cheesesteak stand who once told customers to order in English has died.Family members confirm to Action News that 71-year-old Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento has died of a massive heart attack on the way to the hospital.[snip] In June 2006, Vento and Geno's grabbed headlines for two small signs posted at the shop stating, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH."' Vento said he posted the signs due to concerns over the debate on immigration reform and the increasing number of people who couldn't order...

By now, many conservatives have heard of the Canadian Human Rights Commissions thanks to the decision by three CHRCs to investigate hate crimes complaints against Maclean’s magazine for printing -- among other things -- excerpts from conservative writer Mark Steyn’s book, America Alone. While two of the complaints against Maclean’s have been dismissed, the CHRCs continue their jihad against their fellow citizens who dare to offend certain protected minorities. One of their ongoing cases is the investigation of a newspaper for publishing a cartoon of a Muslim woman dressed in a burqa even though the woman does, in fact, wear...

On Tuesday, Primary Day, Barack Obama went across the street to Pat's for a cheesesteak. Same day, Hillary Clinton had a chicken cheesesteak with Italian greens in the Philadelphia suburbs. To Geno's owner Joey Vento, such decisions showed such a lack of courage that neither Democrat deserves to be president. "If they don't have the guts to come here and talk about the immigration problem ... they're not capable of running our country," he said Tomorrow afternoon, Vento will take on Geraldo Rivera in a soldout debate on immigration at the Inquirer and Daily News Building at Broad and Callowhill...

“The beauty of America is that everyone has a right to say what they want…it’s one of the fundamentals of our Democracy.” – Joey Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks. Until about two years ago- Geno’s Steaks, on the corner of 9th and Passayunk in Philadelphia, was little more than a local legend. However, that all changed in June of 2006 when owner Joey Vento garnered national attention regarding a sign he posted in hiws business’s window that read, “This is America – When ordering, please speak English.” To most observers, this seemed like an entirely reasonable request, since the U.S....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The owner of a famous cheesesteak shop did not discriminate when he posted signs asking customers to speak English, a city panel ruled Wednesday. In a 2-1 vote, a Commission on Human Relations panel found that two signs at Geno's Steaks telling customers, "This is America: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH,'" do not violate the city's Fair Practices Ordinance. Shop owner Joe Vento has said he posted the signs in October 2005 because of concerns over immigration reform and an increasing number of people in the area who could not order in English. Vento has said he...

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia agency has ruled that English-only signs at a famous cheesesteak shop are not discriminatory.

Philadelphia police continue to look for two men (in surveillance footage above and below) accused of attacking a Geno's Steaks employee. The owner of the business is offering a reward. Police say it was around 6:30am December 27th when two males started to argue with a female employee at Geno's Steaks about the now notorious sign there "this is America, when ordering please speak English". A male employee, Tony Chestnut, was power-washing the sidewalk when he went to his co-workers aide. Chestnut, who is recovering at his south Philadelphia home, describes what he says happened next. "When I just waved...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― Police are searching for two suspects wanted in connection with an assault on a Geno's Steaks employee just two days after Christmas. Surveillance video shows the suspects at the world-famous cheesesteak shop in South Philadelphia in the early morning hours of December 27. Police said the unidentified males reportedly were verbally harassing a female employee at about 6:30 a.m. A 32-year-old male employee, who was outside power-washing, tried to intervene when the suspects turned their attention to him. Following a brief argument, one of the males allegedly picked up the employee up and flipped him onto...

SO I'M lying on a sunshiny beach in Florida earlier this week, enjoying 84 degrees of warmth, and find that I'm thinking about Joey Vento. No, I wasn't yearning for a "cheeze-wit." I was reading about a language dispute even more insane than the decision by the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission to haul Vento into court. As we all know, Vento is charged with discrimination for asking his customers to speak English. (The sign at Geno's reads, "This is America. When ordering, please speak English.")

A hearing was expected to continue into the evening on whether Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento discriminated against non-English speaking patrons by posting an "Speak English" sign at his South Philadelphia shop. The Rev. James Allen, the chairperson of Commision on Human Relations, was the first witness to testify late this afternoon, followed by University of Pennsylvania professor Camille Charles. Charles, a professor of sociology, said the number of foreign-born residents living in the South Philadelphia neighborhood near Geno's grew more than 200 percent between 1980 and 2000. When shown historical signs from the Jim Crow era in the South...

English-only cheesesteak fight continuesBy PATRICK WALTERS Associated Pres The battle over an English-only ordering policy at one of Philadelphia's signature cheesesteak joints is apparently far from over. The city's human relations commission found evidence that the owner of Geno's Steaks may have discriminated against immigrants by posting a sign telling customers, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH,' " according to a letter sent to owner Joe Vento last week. Vento's attorneys had hoped the matter would be dropped, but the commission said in the Jan. 31 letter that it found probable cause that discrimination occurred and was moving...

<p>HAZLETON, Pennsylvania: The owner of a Philadelphia cheesesteak joint recently in the spotlight for his English-only ordering policy has donated $10,000 (€7,800) to help the city of Hazleton defend its crackdown on illegal immigration from legal challenges.</p> <p>"I'm behind you 100 percent," Joey Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks, wrote in a handwritten letter to Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta. His fast food restaurant is famous for its cheesesteaks — a mix of fried steak, sliced or chopped, in a long roll, with melted cheese and fried onions.</p>

An Open Letter from Mayor Lou Barletta: I believe the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. People who are in this country have an incredible amount of opportunities and blessings. But some people have taken advantage of America’s openness and tolerance. Some come to this country and refuse to learn English, creating a language barrier for city employees. Others enter the country illegally and use government services by not paying taxes or by committing crime on our streets, further draining resources here in Hazleton. Illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, contributes to overcrowded classrooms and...

Joey Vento is a man of many parts By Michael Currie Schaffer Inquirer Staff Writer Wanna know what Joey Vento doesn't like? Whiners, that's what. The whiners who got corporal punishment taken out of schools. The whiners who call him a racist because there's a rebel flag tattoo on his forearm. The whiners who turn every last thing that happens in this country into a potential lawsuit. Go ahead - ask him what he thinks. Everyone else is. "I grew up where they called me every name in the book: Wop! Dago! Guinea! Midget! But come on! You've got to...

I've seen pictures of the sign, the place and the man ... But .. who has a printable replica of the sign

A city official has asked Geno's, one of Philadelphia's best-known cheesesteak joints, to take down a sign......"This is America: When ordering, speak English." Councilman Jim Kenney noted some residents of linguistically diverse South Philadelphia find the sign offensive. .....Geno's owner, Joseph Vento, a grandson of Sicilian immigrants....(said) "I don't see much of a big deal about learning to say, 'Cheez Whiz.' "

Mexicanos JUNTOS ( South Philadelphia) "JUNTOS is a community center for recent Mexican and Latin American immigrants in the South Philadelphia area. At this center, they offer basic English classes for adults, cultural events, host a Mexican dance troupe, and generally seek to meet the needs of the community. They are particularly interested in students who would be willing to teach or assist ESL classes or work as homework aids with kids after school. In an effort to be sensitive to the community’s needs, JUNTOS usually asks for at least a semester-long commitment from volunteers so that students and community...