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The article is from the Philadelphis Enquirer...
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/14720152.htm
And THIS follow-up article is from the Philadelphia Daily News....
AS OUR sister paper recently reported, Geno's Steaks owner Joe Vento requires customers to speak English before he'll serve them. A sign at the order window says, "This is America... Speak English." Pointing at the menu or otherwise signaling your order doesn't cut it with Joe.
Vento says he's received great feedback since his sign went up. But while he may be a hero to some, I say au contraire. Having an English-only policy at Geno's, a Philadelphia landmark, makes us seem small-minded and provincial, and undercuts efforts to have Philadelphia recognized as a world-class city.
Have you ever gone abroad and tried to order food? Wherever tourists can be found, there is probably someone who speaks English. In Italy, it's not uncommon to find menus translated into English, French, German, even Japanese. If you wander off the tourist track, people are happy to help and patient with feeble attempts to communicate, including hand gestures.
Kindly proprietors may even take you into the kitchen to let you point at what you'd like. I've even drawn pictures of animals and clucked or mooed, and always been treated graciously.
We like to think of Philadelphia as worthy of international visitors. The Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau spent $1.5 million last year to lure them, and almost half a million foreign tourists pumped more than $200 million into the region's economy. Fritz Smith, VP of tourism for the bureau, calls it "good business strategy" to welcome all visitors. "We certainly hope that Geno's would extend a welcoming atmosphere," he told me. "The Philly cheesesteak is a well-known Philadelphia icon."
Nancy Gilboy, president of the International Visitors Bureau in Philadelphia, says she loves the people at Geno's, but was "disappointed" when she heard about the sign. "We're trying to make Philadelphia the easiest city in the U.S. for non-English-speakers to visit and to live. We're trying to grow the economy."
And suppose Philadelphia gets the 2016 Olympics? There could be tens of thousands of athletes and fans from all over the world, looking for something to eat. Who else besides Joe Vento doesn't want their business? I guess he won't be carrying the Olympic torch down Broad Street.
Jimmy, the guy at the window at Geno's when I stopped by, denied the rule was aimed at foreign tourists. "Some people have taken it the wrong way," he told me between taking orders.
"If you come here from France, and you're on vacation, you shouldn't have to speak English. I try to work with them."
And how do you tell the tourists from the immigrants, legal or illegal - unless what you really mean is Mexicans.
"This was a predominantly Italian neighborhood, and for some reason it's turning Mexican," complained Vento. "They're not speaking the language. It's a big problem, and it's getting worse."
Not for Tom Francano, who has been taking orders across the street at Pat's King of Steaks for 27 years. "We welcome everybody. We speak everything here. We're multicultural."
As I waited, two deaf people in line used sign language to communicate with each other. When their turn came to order, one of them spoke but was very hard to understand. Francano initially got their order wrong, but quickly corrected it, with a smile.
Patty Jeres is a self-described "Philly chick" who now lives in Brooklyn. She brought a friend to Geno's and was "embarrassed" by the sign. "Just look at this city, this neighborhood - it's built on immigrants."
South Philly was once a place where people spoke Italian at home and in the street, until the children of these immigrants learned English in school. Some of the old people still speak it, especially when they don't want their grandkids to know what they're saying.
Vento admitted his own grandfather had trouble with English when he was fresh off the boat. I'm thinking he probably had to order his cheesesteak con cippoli if he wanted onions. Two generations of education and that has been improved to "wid."
Pat's and Geno's are real tourist attractions. Cars slow down so people can take photos and a tour bus is parked around the corner. At the tables are several groups in which a native Philadelphian has brought friends or relatives from out of town.
So what kind of an impression does Geno's sign make on visitors?
As one ex-Philadelphian who brought a friend sniffed, "It would never happen in New York." Ouch!
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to the owner of that place.