Geno’s Removes Infamous “Speak English” Sign

It was only a small sign, no bigger than one of the cheesesteak hoagies for which the restaurant was famous. But it caused a big uproar. Posted in the window of Geno’s Steaks of Philadelphia, it blared its message loud and clear. An unimpressed-looking American eagle stood sentry over the words: “This is America. When ordering, ‘speak English.'” Geno’s now-deceased owner, Joseph Vento, defended the sign’s message until his death in 2011, despite national attention and criticism that called him bigoted, racist, and un-American. Now, however, with no fanfare, the sign is gone.

Joey Vento is pictured in this AP photo from 2007 with the infamous sign. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Washington Post cited Billy Penn as noticing that the sign was gone recently. When asked about it, a shop representative confirmed that the sign had been removed prior to July’s Democratic National Convention. The Post shared the anecdote: “On Thursday, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Helen Ubiñas wrote about ordering cheesesteaks at Geno’s for the first time in years — “Dos, con Whiz, por favor.” It worked.”

Back in 2006, when the sign made national headlines, the spin was that the sign was indicative of Geno’s stance on illegal immigration. Vento himself passionately defended the sign, he himself the child of Italian immigrants. He said that immigrants to the country who couldn’t speak English “don’t know how lucky they are.”

“All we’re asking them to do is learn the English language,” he said. “We’re out to help these people, but they’ve got to help themselves, too.”

But that’s not how everyone saw things. Rachel Lawton, then acting executive director of Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations, railed against the sign to the Associated Press, saying it violated the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance by discriminating against those patrons who didn’t speak English.

Why did the sign finally come down? It was the decision of Geno Vento, son of Joseph, who also happens  to be openly gay. The sign stayed up as long as it did after Joseph’s death, the shop said, because it was his “dying wish” that it remain. Sometime this summer, however, Geno Vento saw the light.

“It’s not about a sign,” read a statement from Geno’s Steaks to the AP on Thursday. “It’s about what you do and what your mark in life is, and Geno wants to change that mark in life.”