The Classic Mall Food Court Spot That Still Lives Rent‑free In People's Heads

Depending on your age, or even just what media you consume, the idea of the mall will evoke tableaus as vast and varied as the stores inside. Maybe you remember cruising escalators and shopping for POGs with your pals in the '90s. Maybe you're more familiar with fictional shopping centers, like the dastardly Starcourt Mall from "Stranger Things." Or, maybe, you most associate the mall in general with its food court. Just mention one-time food court superstar Sbarro, or the signature drink at Orange Julius and plenty of people are transported right back to their local Westfield or whatever. Some seemingly forgotten food court destinations, however, are actually still very active in hearts and minds, including Steak Escape.

If you're just champing at the bit to add Steak Escape to the list of old food court faves, you're part of an apparently niche but decently online community. An internet denizen in the "nostalgia" subreddit, for example, posted a photographic homage to the sandwich grill, upon which a few further fans yearned for the chain's cheesesteaks, fries, and even the aromas that wafted from the restaurant. Users in another subreddit also lamented Steak Escape's apparent disappearance in the years since the place's '90s heyday. Absent much aesthetic difference from any other food court spot, the food itself seems to be Steak Escape's real appeal. But Steak Escape seems to have, well, escaped the grasp of those who loved it most. Yet some remain.

If you remember a higher concentration of Steak Escape locations than seem to exist today, then one, some new internet BFFs await, and two, you're correct. In a Facebook post on the occasion of Steak Escape's "rebranding and rebuilding," the business' contemporary scion detailed how there were once nearly 300, mostly mall, outposts, but that the number fell as malls themselves dwindled. But, in the social media video, the next generation's Steak Escape representative promised to come back better than ever.

Today there are reportedly 25 Steak Escape locations in the United States, with the most in Ohio where Steak Escape is headquartered. The others are in Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Carolina, and South Dakota, according to the data gathering company ScrapeHero. A wide variety of what Steak Escape calls cheesesteaks (and would certainly invite discussion from many Philadelphians) presently grace the menu, plus chicken subs, teriyaki, Korean BBQ, and Italian chicken bowls, and a smattering of loaded fries with toppings like chili and cheddar. Franchise opportunities are also available for the most committed among Steak Escape's devotees. Just maybe consider opening it somewhere a little farther afield from wherever POGs are sold.