Mitchell Timoteo moved with his family from Philadelphia to South Florida in the 1980s and has been on the hunt for a great Philly cheesesteak in here ever since.
A trip to the City of Brotherly Love a year ago was just another reminder of just how far short the local sandwich scene was when it comes to that gooey greatness. This time, the restaurateur whose family created the franchise RJ Gators and now owns and operates the popular Berry Fresh Café chain of restaurants decided to take matters into his own hands, opening Papa T's.
The name Papa T is the one Mitchell's children gave his father, their grandfather, Tim Tomateo, who also pined for a better cheesesteak in the 561.
Though Papa T died about five years ago, he'd definitely be proud of
the restaurant that now bears his name and the sandwich they serve.
Papa T's cheesesteaks are made with 100% USDA Choice ribeye along with either provolone, Cooper Sharp American (a popular cheese made in Pennsylvania) or classic "old school whiz" on either a plain or sesame roll from Bread by Johnny.
"We're doing a high quality Philly cheesesteak sandwich cooked in beef tallow, with shaved ribeye," Timoteo said.
This is the sandwich crafted to be worthy of the name Papa T.
The first location opened in Stuart in July, the second followed in Port St. Lucie about two weeks ago and a third is slated to open in Jupiter on Nov. 12.
If you're trying to find the restaurants, however, you might have just a bit of trouble spotting it on the Google map. That's because they are located within Timoteo's Berry Fresh Cafés.
"Berry Fresh Café is a breakfast, lunch and brunch concept and so we're closed for dinner," Timoteo said. "Papa T's is a vehicle for us to grow our business and our sales and use our facilities that we already have, there's no capital outlay. We're maximizing what we have."
In addition to using the kitchens they already have, there's a bit of crossover on the Berry Fresh and Papa T's menus, including the fresh chicken tenders.
"A lot of the products overlap so we don't have to bring in a lot of inventory."
Papa T's are open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and are takeout and delivery only.
The goal is to eventually operate a Papa T's Cheesesteaks & Tenders out of all five Berry Fresh Café locations. That said, they're not in a hurry.
Timoteo said the group has learned valuable lessons in restauranting. "We originally started the RJ Gators restaurant chain. We built that to 30 restaurants over a 20-year period, we went bankrupt 2007. We got back on our feet and started Berry Fresh Café. It's been 16 years now. Slow, but steady. We don't want to be the biggest, just the best," Timoteo said.
Timoteo said that the two most popular sandwiches so far have been the Papa T's Classic Cheesesteak with Cooper Sharp America and the Garlic Parm Cheesesteak. "We actually shave fresh parmesan cheese on top."
More herbivore than carnivore? Papa T's offers the Veggie Philly which is made with sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppers, roasted red tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, spinach, provolone, garlic aioli and a balsamic glaze.
In addition to cheesesteaks and fresh antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken tenders, they offer loaded fries, several salads and more.
While operating out of the existing Berry Fresh Cafés is a no-brainer from a business standpoint, in the beginning it confused some delivery drivers.
Timoteo joked that "even Doordash drivers were like 'am I in the right place?'"
They have limited the distance to which they'll deliver to a three-mile radius per restaurant to ensure quality. "It's about drive time. We double wrap our Phillies and we call it a 'Philadelphia microwave' so it actually it stays hot up to 20-30 minutes and all the flavors kind of mesh, it's almost better."
Papa T's Cheesesteaks & Tenders, Jupiter
Where: 3755 Military Trail, Jupiter (located within Berry Fresh Cafe)
Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday to Sunday (delivery and takeout only), opening Nov. 12
Information: papatsrestaurant.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Berry Fresh Café owner opens Philly cheesesteak spot in Jupiter
