A Pennsylvania pizzeria that catapulted to fame is now grappling with the dark side of notoriety, as fed-up neighbors complain that trash-strewn crowds have turned their once-peaceful streets into a chaotic nightmare.
Angelo’s Pizzeria, a trendy spot tucked inside a rowhome on South 9th Street in South Philadelphia, has skyrocketed to international fame since opening in 2019, drawing crowds from across state lines eager to try its renowned cheesesteaks, hoagies and pizza.
However, neighbors say they’ve reached a breaking point with the pizzeria’s celebrity status, citing trashed streets, constant noise, traffic congestion and rowdy customers even resorting to public urination.
‘To summarize it in one sentence, it’s a victim of its own success,’ Bella Vista Neighbors Association board president Eugene Desyatnik told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Declared the best slice in the city by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, the takeout-only spot draws 100-300 patrons daily – many of whom begin lining up at the door well before it opens at 11am.
‘It gets pretty overpopulated,’ customer Lilly Ringle told NBC 10 Philadelphia. ‘It gets crowded. Like, there’s not much room to order.’
But the crowds don’t vanish after placing their orders – despite a sign that’s hung on Angelo’s door for years politely reading: ‘Please be respectful of our neighbors and the neighborhood and do not sit on other peoples [sic] steps. Thank you!!!!’
With no seating or public bathrooms, customers have no choice but to linger on the sidewalks outside, chowing down curbside and turning the neighborhood-friendly block into an all-day street party.
Neighbors of Angelo’s Pizzeria, a viral spot tucked inside a rowhome in Philadelphia, have reached a breaking point with the eatery’s newfound celebrity-status, citing trashed streets, constant noise, traffic congestion and rowdy customers even resorting to public urination
The trendy spot is located on South 9th Street in South Philadelphia and has skyrocketed to international fame since opening in 2019, drawing crowds from across state lines eager to try its renowned cheesesteaks, hoagies and pizza
With no seating or public bathrooms, customers have no choice but to linger on the sidewalks outside, chowing down curbside and turning the neighborhood-friendly block into an all-day street party
‘They’re a thorn in my side and the side of the neighborhood,’ neighbor Eileen Plato, who lives just feet away, told 6 ABC News.
‘I hate the lines,’ she added. ‘I hate their business model.’
Though many neighbors argue Angelo’s has long outgrown its modest, 17-foot-wide rowhome, those same lines have become an essential part of the pizzeria’s allure.
‘That’s something that’s kind of in Angelo’s culture now,’ resident John McKenzie told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
‘People come here thinking, ‘Oh, we know we’ve got to wait for 45 minutes, but we’re just going to hang out. We’re going to listen to music in our car. We’re going to have a beer,” he added.
‘It’s a party atmosphere, like a carnival-type thing.’
However, neighbors say they’ve borne the brunt of the crowds – acknowledging that while its great to see a local business thrive, its come at their expense.
‘There’s people parked everywhere,’ McKenzie said. ‘There’s people beeping their horn because people are blocking stuff.’
Declared the best slice in the city by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy (pictured), the takeout-only spot draws 100-300 patrons daily – many of whom begin lining up at the door well before it opens at 11am
Many neighbors argue that Angelo’s has long outgrown its modest, 17-foot-wide rowhome on their once-quiet street, expressing anger towards rowdy patrons eating food on neighborhood stoops and leaving trash behind once their done
Though many neighbors aren’t anti-Angelo’s, they still believe that relocating the pizzeria to a different location would benefit the community and help the chaotic traffic congestion and noise issues
Even a local postman, who’s worked the same route for 22 years, has found himself stuck in the chaotic congestion as lines swell with dozens of people and delivery trucks block the street – describing the daily scene as ‘bordering on the ridiculous side’.
Still, traffic congestion is just the tip of the iceberg.
Once determined foodies and out-of-town tourists get their hands on an iconic slice, they turn the surrounding neighborhood into their personal dining hall – seemingly oblivious to the disruption they’re causing all around them.
‘There’s always noise coming in my house,’ neighbor Jim Orr told NBC. ‘It’s ridiculous.’
‘I have people who camp out on my steps and eat and leave trash,’ he added.
McKenzie agreed, recalling a neighbor who told him: ‘My sidewalk, my stoop, my space is being used as this restaurant’s.’
Other neighbors have reported property damage to their stoops and cellar doors as just one of the grim side effects of the pizzeria’s booming popularity.
‘The people that are on ground zero,’ he added, ‘I feel really bad for them.’
![The crowds don't vanish after patrons placed their orders - despite a sign that's been hung on Angelo's door for years politely reading: 'Please be respectful of our neighbors and the neighborhood and do not sit on other peoples [sic] steps. Thank you!!!!'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/04/25/00/97667005-14645603-image-m-12_1745537459940.jpg)
The crowds don’t vanish after patrons placed their orders – despite a sign that’s been hung on Angelo’s door for years politely reading: ‘Please be respectful of our neighbors and the neighborhood and do not sit on other peoples [sic] steps. Thank you!!!!’
Neighbors have reported property damage to their stoops and cellar doors as just one of the grim side effects of the pizzeria’s booming popularity
Councilman Mark Squilla (pictured) mentioned that the city is considering a loading zone to improve traffic flow while trucks make deliveries to the pizzeria. Angelo’s also announced that they had opened up a ghost kitchen to help with that issue
Similar to Orr’s complaint, frustrated neighbors have also noticed a sharp surge in litter, with trash now lining the once-pristine streets.
‘I’ll say it’s two-thirds coming from Angelo’s,’ resident Joel Palmer told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
‘What customers don’t pick up is the pizza pie crust, the bits and pieces of food that they drop,’ he added. ‘That’s just food for the rats.’
But the worst part of living next to the now-viral Angelo’s, neighbors said, is dealing with unruly customers who openly urinate on sidewalks and nearby properties.
‘It’s very easy for them to find this little secluded area as a place to use the bathroom,’ McKenzie told The Philadelphia Inquirer, adding that seeing these patrons outside his house is a regular occurrence.
Though many neighbors aren’t anti-Angelo’s, they still believe that relocating the pizzeria to a different location would benefit the community.
‘I want them to do well,’ McKenzie said. ‘I just wish that they were like Jim’s Steaks down on South Street, where it is a business area, or Pat’s and Geno’s.’
‘This is rowhouses,’ he added. ‘This pizza place in this rowhouse has now become a huge business around other rowhouses.’
Residents have described its renowned fame as causing ‘a party atmosphere, like a carnival-type thing’ on the surrounding streets
Mounting complaints culminated in a heated meeting on Wednesday night, where neighbors didn’t hold back as they voiced their frustrations directly to Angelo’s two attorneys and Councilman Mark Squilla who subsequently came up with possible solutions
Councilman Mark Squilla held a community meeting in the fall, resulting in some changes already being put in place to strike a balance between the business and the neighborhood.
The city has already installed plastic bollards at the Ninth and Fitzwater intersection to deter illegal parking.
While not visually appealing or flawless, they have reduced cars blocking the sidewalks.
While residents have been mostly appreciative of the efforts made thus far, ‘there’s some that are still very upset, because not everything has been accomplished,’ Squilla told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
‘Hopefully we’ll get to that point where both sides can live harmoniously.’
Yet the continued mounting complaints culminated in a heated meeting on Wednesday night, where neighbors didn’t hold back as they voiced their frustrations directly to Angelo’s two attorneys and Councilman Mark Squilla.
More permanent traffic solutions, such as bike corrals and planets, were discussed during Wednesday’s meeting.
Squilla also mentioned that the city is considering a loading zone to improve traffic flow while trucks make deliveries to the pizzeria. Angelo’s announced that they had opened up a ghost kitchen to help with that issue.
The city has already installed plastic bollards at the Ninth and Fitzwater intersection to deter illegal parking. Additional trash cans, emptied throughout the day, were also placed outside the eatery to curb littering
In a statement, Evan Lechtman and Peter Kelsen (pictured), two attorneys representing Angelo’s, said: ‘Angelo’s strives to be a great community partner and is always willing to engage in productive conversations with its neighbors’
A local postman, who’s worked the same route for 22 years, has also found himself stuck in the chaotic congestion as lines swell with dozens of people and delivery trucks block the street – describing the daily scene as ‘bordering on the ridiculous side’
Additional trash cans, emptied throughout the day, were also placed outside the eatery to curb littering.
In a statement, Evan Lechtman and Peter Kelsen, two attorneys representing Angelo’s, said: ‘Angelo’s strives to be a great community partner and is always willing to engage in productive conversations with its neighbors’.
Desyatnik, who described the scene outside Angelo’s as ‘kind of iconic’, is just one of many hoping that the community can find a solution that allows the pizzeria to stay.
‘People in their sports gear just standing around, the skyline in the background, eating off their hoods – there’s something to it,’ he told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
‘We’re proud of our neighborhood being featured in the national food scene,’ he added. ‘That’s not to be missed in all of this. We just have to make it work for everybody.’
