The former Gordon’s Cheesesteaks at 518 Bailey Road in Crystal City has a new owner and name.
The business, now called Cheese Steaks, recently was sold to Samantha Stevens, 46, of Cedar Hill. She and her spouse, Marty Shaw, 47, took over the business in mid-August.
The shop previously was owned by the Grass family, which operates Gordon’s Stoplight Drive-in, the iconic burger joint near where the Cheese Steaks business is located.
Stevens said the sandwich shop has all the menu items that were available under the previous ownership, but new items have been added, such as chicken sandwiches, gyros, pickle chips and various side dishes.
She said the biggest change is the expanded business hours. Cheese Steaks is now open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Stevens also said the business will sometimes stay open even later on evenings when a special event is being held in the area.
In June, a message was posted on the Gordon’s Cheesesteaks Facebook page that the business, which opened in February 2017, was for sale because the Grass family could not properly staff both of their businesses.
Stevens said the business was advertised as turnkey and ready for the new owners to take over the still-open restaurant, so no remodeling was needed.
She said she and Shaw had talked about opening a small restaurant or food truck for years, and when the opportunity came up to purchase Gordon’s Cheese-steaks, they jumped at it.
Even though owning their own business was something the two had wanted for a long time, Stevens said she found it hard to believe they were realizing their dream.
“I really didn’t believe it was ours until I had the keys in hand,” she said. “Even after signing paperwork, I thought something will go wrong.”
Owning and operating Cheese Steaks is a large departure from their full-time jobs.
Stevens has been a hairstylist for more than 25 years, and Shaw has worked as a mechanic for more than 25 years. Both are still working those jobs, too.
Stevens said she and Shaw have been running the sandwich shop, with the help of three of their children: Kristen, 26, Annabelle, 25 and Cody, 16.
“All of the support from family and our friends have made this journey a great one,” she said. “We also would like to let all of our customers know we appreciate them very much. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to have this wonderful journey that we call Cheese Steaks.”
Customers may order in person or by calling Cheese Steaks at 636-933-9192. Stevens said they plan to add an online ordering option in the near future.
