After 96 years, Pat’s King of Steaks is building cheesesteaks differently and offering seeded roll

Like Major League Baseball installing the pitch clock or Apple dropping the headphone jack from iPhones, a small shift can have a major impact.

The same is true of sandwiches: After 96 years, South Philadelphia landmark Pat’s King of Steaks has made two subtle but significant tweaks.

The stand at the crossroads of Ninth, Passyunk, and Wharton is now offering seeded rolls, from longtime supplier Aversa Italian Bakery, alongside the plain hoagie-style rolls Pat Olivieri first used when he introduced the steak sandwich in 1930.

Owner Frank Olivieri said his father, Frank P. Olivieri, didn’t want seeded rolls “probably because his father [Harry] and his uncle [Pat] beat it into his head that he could not change the recipe whatsoever for whatever reason. But since my father unfortunately passed several weeks ago, I thought maybe it’s time to change up a little bit,“ he said. ”Seeded rolls are something that I do when I make them at home for myself.”

Pat’s announced the “new school” seeded-roll option on Instagram as a limited-time offering, but Olivieri said it likely will be permanent. (Across the street, Geno’s still offers plain rolls only.)

The second change — subtle but more significant — is happening on Pat’s grills.

Since Pat’s began offering cheesesteaks in the 1950s, cooks layered the sliced cheese over the beef and let residual heat do the melting on the sandwich. Now, the cheese is melted into the meat and optional onions on the grill before everything gets mixed and goes into the roll.

Olivieri said his father resisted melting cheese on the grill out of concern for maintaining the cooking surface. The new method produces a more integrated bite, with cheese distributed evenly. (Traditionalists, he said, can ask for the classic layered technique.)

He said the updates reflect customer requests, not competitive pressure. Many newer shops favor seeded rolls and grill-melted cheese, arguing that the crunch and cohesion improve texture. Pat’s has adopted those elements — with limits.

While newer operators often finely chop their steak, Pat’s remains committed to its sliced, or “slab,” style.

“There’ll be no banging on the grill,” Olivieri said.

Other additions have appeared. Two years ago, Pat’s started to offer chicken cheesesteaks and Cooper Sharp cheese — the darling of the new-gen shops. Pat’s still offers American, but Olivieri said he plans to phase it out. “It’s kind of redundant,” he said.

» READ MORE: John’s Roast Pork has caved: Cooper Sharp cheese is becoming a cheesesteak option

The shop has tweaked things before.

In the late 1970s, Olivieri said, he and his mother, Ritamarie, began offering mushrooms and peppers after hearing customers ask for them. His father didn’t notice at first.

“He was looking at one of the invoices and said, ‘When the hell did we start selling mushrooms and peppers?’” Olivieri recalled. “I said, ‘Three weeks ago, Dad.’ He goes, ‘Oh, are they selling?’ I said, ‘Yes.’”

They stayed.

Still, Olivieri sets some boundaries. “I draw the line at pepperoni,” he said.