The original Tony Luke’s steak shop to change name amid court battle and family feud

After 30 years, the original location of Tony Luke’s steak shop in South Philadelphia will officially change its name at the end of the month, a fallout of a family feud that inspired an IRS tax-fraud case against the founder and a son.

It will be known as Tony & Nick’s Steaks, said Nick Lucidonio, who operates the stand, which has cast a neon glow beneath I-95 on Oregon Avenue near Front Street, since his father, Tony Sr., opened in 1992. A new sign is being made and should be installed later this month.

Lucidonio said he and his father are complying with a cease-and-desist letter from attorneys representing a second Lucidonio son, Tony Jr., and Tony Jr.’s business partner, Ray Rastelli, who operate the Tony Luke’s franchise locations and the mail-order enterprise.

Nick Lucidonio said he and his father were given until July 25 to change the branding to eliminate confusion.

In sum: The franchise locations want no association with the original location.

The franchise locations’ website announces that “the restaurant location at Front Street and Oregon Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is not affiliated in any way with the Tony Luke’s brand or franchise.”

“I just can’t keep fighting them,” Nick Lucidonio said.

Over the weekend, Twitter user @meechone noticed that the main sign read simply “Tony,” leaving a large space, followed by a lowercase “s.” PhillyVoice reported the change on its website Monday.

In May, Tony Lucidonio Sr. and Nick Lucidonio pleaded guilty to tax-evasion charges, telling a federal judge that they had kept two sets of books to hide cash. They also admitted to paying their employees large portions of their salaries in cash under the table to evade payroll taxes.

Sentencing for Tony Sr., 83, and Nick Lucidonio, 56, is scheduled for September. Their guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States are punishable by up to five years in prison.

Son Tony Lucidonio Jr., a singer and actor as well as the face of the Tony Luke’s franchise locations, was not involved in the scheme and was not charged. He declined comment.

The tax case began as a family feud from 2015, when Tony Jr. was ousted from the original stand. Soon after, he sued his father and brother. By then, Tony Jr. was working with Rastelli on franchises and a mail-order business.

Name changes as a result of partnership splits are not entirely uncommon. Manco & Manco’s, the Ocean City pizzeria chain, was Mack & Manco’s for years. Sometimes, the names remain after partners leave. The Pizzeria Vetri restaurants kept their names after Marc Vetri sold to Urban Outfitters in 2011, and Lacroix at the Rittenhouse never changed after chef Jean-Marie Lacroix’s 2006 departure. Some name changes follow negative publicity (Joe’s Steaks).

Nick Lucidonio seemed sanguine about the change. His customers “will still know it’s us. Same owner, same great food.”