The Cappelli brothers have been building on a single block in Midtown Village for years. Pizzeria Cappelli and Cappelli Brothers Cigar Company occupy storefronts at 209 and 211 S. 13th Street, two doors apart on one of the city’s most concentrated dining and nightlife corridors. Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks, which opened June 4 at Gather Food Hall in Schuylkill Yards, was developed with brand partner Todd O’Connor and is the first time the brothers have moved a concept outside that footprint.
Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks at Gather Food Hall
The menu runs steak and chicken cheesesteaks alongside loaded fries, protein bowls, and vegetarian options — including buffalo chicken fries and cheesesteak-loaded fries. Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks is built for quick service across lunch, dinner, and late-night. The concept is a departure from the brothers’ existing Midtown Village format, which centers on a sit-down pizza operation and a cigar lounge, and is designed for the pace of the Bulletin Building at 3025 Market Street, where foot traffic moves through constantly from nearby Drexel buildings, hospital facilities, and the growing residential population in the development.
The Bulletin Building was constructed in 1955 as the home of The Philadelphia Bulletin, the dominant daily newspaper in the region until it folded in 1982. Hospitality HQ, the management group led by New York-based chef Akhtar Nawab, developed the food hall in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust and opened it to the public in October 2025. The current vendor lineup alongside Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks includes Mucho Perú, Sahbyy Food, El Mictlan, Bowl’d Masala, and the Bulletin Bar, a full-service bar offering cocktails, draft beer, and wine.
Philadelphia’s Summer and University City
The timing places Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks at Gather Food Hall ahead of the busiest stretch of events Philadelphia has seen in recent memory. FIFA World Cup matches are coming to Lincoln Financial Field — Philadelphia is one of a small number of American cities hosting multiple matches, with games running through late June and into July. Alongside America’s 250th anniversary celebrations and MLB All-Star Week, the city will see an unusual volume of visitors over roughly the same period, and Schuylkill Yards is positioned between 30th Street Station and the Penn and Drexel campuses in a way that captures foot traffic from multiple directions.
Gather has positioned itself as a viewing destination for World Cup matches, with game screenings and event programming planned throughout the tournament. The weekly recurring lineup continues through the summer: Brewer Spotlights on the first Tuesday of each month from 4 to 6 PM, Karaoke Wednesdays and Music Bingo Thursdays from 6 to 9 PM, and Sunday Happy Hour DJs from 5 to 8 PM. Additional seasonal programming, including acoustic patio performances, is being added through the coming months.
There is also a less visible dimension to how Gather is structured. The food hall partners with Believe in Students, a nonprofit that provides low-cost meals to college students experiencing food insecurity. One in four college students in the United States is estimated to face that situation. Brandywine has committed $250,000 over ten years to the initiative; in year one, Gather expects to deliver 5,000 meals through the nonprofit’s partner network. For a food hall positioned between Drexel and Penn, it is a concrete acknowledgment of who this neighborhood actually serves — and a distinction that separates Gather from most food halls in most cities.
Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks runs on Gather Food Hall’s standard hours — Sunday through Thursday, 11 AM to 10 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 11 AM to 11 PM. The full vendor lineup, event schedule, and details about Cappelli’s Bros. Cheesesteaks are at gatherfoodhall.com.
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