Jim's And Pat's Have Better Steaks Anyway

(A local Philly thing coming up, just to let you know…).

I don’t know about you, but I’ve just about had it with Joey Vento, owner of Geno’s, a steak sandwich shop in South Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports here that Vento won his case against the city of Philadelphia in which he was asked to take down the sign outside of his establishment that said “This is America. When ordering, please speak English.”

(Of course, there’s the issue of whether or not “English” is a proprietary language of this country or Great Britain since there are subtle differences between the two, so Vento really couldn’t claim English as a wholly American language anyway, or at least imply that…but I digress.)

Apparently, though, merely emerging victorious is not good enough for Vento, who…

…yesterday demanded a revision of the Commission on Human Relations' practices. If nothing is done, he said, he will sue. Also, he wants an apology from Mayor (Michael) Nutter.

Vento said yesterday he was insulted by Nutter's returning a $1,000 donation he had made to his election campaign, and by the mayor's statement that the commission's pursuit of the case "was good for the city."

"At this point, I can't have respect for the mayor," Vento told reporters gathered at his shop at Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue.

Mayoral spokesman Doug Oliver said Nutter had no comment on Vento's case.

"We recognize that the Human Relations Commission plays an important role in investigating complaints of discrimination and bias-related issues," Oliver said.

And of course, Vento has a second lawyer involved in addition to Albert Weiss who represented him in the original action (his right, I know)…

Shannon Goessling, executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm in Atlanta that championed the case as a "First Amendment question," said Vento wanted a change in the way the city handles such cases.

"What the commission did to Mr. Vento in dragging his name through the mud for 21 months was unconscionable and unconstitutional," she said.

"A decision could have been made two days after the complaint was filed," Goessling said. "That's not what happened. But for the resources of Joey Vento and his attitude about standing up for the small-business owner, he might not have been in the position you see now. He is a victor because he had resources."

OK, so now Vento is prepared to wage another legal battle to try to make Philadelphia’s Human Rights Commission respond more proactively (as he sees it), costing more taxpayer dollars that could be used more effectively for city services and other related costs, a particularly important issue during this recession.

Over a sign. Over a stupid, fracking sign!

I realize that neither I nor anyone else has the right to tell Vento how to run his business. But as City Councilman James F. Kenney noted, the sign sends a particularly bad message when the city is trying to attract international tourists.

But hey, if Vento wants to be a troglodyte, that’s his choice. However, suing the city because it didn’t act the way he wanted is venturing beyond mere egomania into xenophobic stupidity…cubed.