Hundreds lined up in Ontario this weekend to a viral new sandwich
Hundreds of foodies flocked to an Ontario sandwich pop-up on Sunday, Sept. 6, without ever having tasted what they were waiting for.
When you've amassed over 200,000 followers across social media platforms by telling people in the GTA where to eat and why, you're almost guaranteed to draw a considerable crowd when you venture into the food business yourself.
That was the case, at least, for Marcello, the local food influencer who goes by his handle @marcelloeats, when he mounted the inaugural pop-up for his burgeoning Philly cheesesteak business, Cello's Cheesesteaks, at a Vaughan industrial park this weekend.
Back in July, Marcello took to social media to share his dream of opening a restaurant after spending so much time visiting them with his followers. It would be called Cello's Cheesesteaks, and it would serve, well, cheesesteaks. Of course, opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Toronto comes with considerable risk, so he figured it would be better to start small.
In the video, he called upon his connections to see who would be willing to host the first-ever Cello's Cheesesteaks event, and support showed up in droves. At last, a date was set, and extensive recipe testing commenced. On Sep. 6, Cello's Cheesesteaks were unleashed on the world, and an adoring public, hundreds strong, waited in line, mouths agape, ready for a taste.
Marcello tells blogTO that, despite all the support he received for Cello's Cheesesteaks before it was actually a real thing, he still felt some nerves before the pop-up.
"I was definitely nervous having people try my food for the first time," Marcello explains, "but we did a lot of research, testing and made sure we were using really good ingredients, so I was confident in the sandwich."
The team behind him, too, ensured the whole day went off as smoothly as it possibly could.
It paid off, too, because Marcello tells blogTO that they ended up serving around 300 cheesesteaks, selling out completely in a matter of hours.
"Honestly, I'm just really thankful," he says. "This has been a dream of mine for years, but self-doubt always held me back. So I'm really proud of myself for finally just going for it, especially when there were people who didn't think it would work."
Not included among the naysayers, Marcello notes, is the city's restaurant community. Restaurant owners that he's built relationships with over the years showed up in droves, whether attending the pop-up or reaching out with advice and offers of help; "that meant a lot," he says.
After such smashing success (along with a few tribulations: "We definitely learned some things... starting with we need a bigger grill," he laughs), Marcello tells blogTO that he's keen to keep the momentum going with another pop-up, which he hopes will take place in October.
Beyond that, though, Marcello's primary goal, to open a restaurant of his own, remains unshaken. "After this, that dream feels a lot more possible," he says.
You can find out when Cello's Cheesesteaks will be hosting its next pop-up by following it, and Marcello, on Instagram.
