Layla’s Cheesesteaks brings taste of Philadelphia to Marble Hill

MARBLE HILL — Layla’s Cheesesteaks is now open in Marble Hill. William Rosevelt officially opened the restaurant Oct. 17.

“We wanted to bring cheesesteaks to Missouri,” Rosevelt said. “I believe everybody should try cheesesteak at least once in their life. A lot of people have never had them. They didn’t know what they were. I actually had a farmer say, ‘Is that just a steak with cheese on it?’ I said, ‘No, sir, it’s a sandwich. You’re gonna love it, don’t worry.’ We just wanted to bring that flavor here.”

Originally from Philadelphia, he spent years perfecting what he believes is a great Philly cheesesteak.

“I learned from some of the best,” he said. “I spent a lot of time eating and frequenting Geno’s, Pat’s. There was a place in Pennsylvania I worked at briefly called The Brass Rail. It’s in Allentown, actually, they have two locations. That was some of the best cheesesteaks that you could have. They weren’t actually in Philly, they were in Allentown, but they made a great cheesesteak, and that’s what I adopted.”

Rosevelt gets his cheesesteak buns from the same place The Brass Rail gets them.

He said his family arrived at Missouri because of a need to stop moving as much.

“My wife wanted to settle down,” he said. “We used to restore hotels. We had a restaurant in Watkins, Colorado. It was a cheesesteak house, as well. We’d go to a hotel, and they’d flip it, the company that we were associated with. My wife got tired of that lifestyle, the moving around all the time. We adopted two little ones, a 3-year-old and 1-year-old."

The new restaurant is named after his daughter, Layla.

Rosevelt said they sought a move “somewhere in Missouri” that had a piece of land

“We found the house, and then we came here,” Rosevelt said, referring to Marble Hill.

Rosevelt discussed the challenges of operating a restaurant.

“The challenges of opening a restaurant are universal,” he said. “It’s a lot to go through. You’ve got to find the right suppliers, you’ve got make sure they can get the product that you’re looking for. You’ve got to secure the building. You’ve got to put the hood … just putting the kitchen in one of these units alone is a $25,000 endeavor. It’s not cheap. There is a lot you’ve got to undertake to do it.

“Being in a small town, you’ve always got the fear that you won’t be well accepted because small towns, sometimes they don’t accept people that are not from that town. So you have that concern. So far, we’ve been very accepted. People have loved the food.”

The highlight of the menu is the cheesesteak, though Rosevelt admits there are plenty of options.

“It’s mainly the Philly cheesesteak. We do have a full breakfast menu — biscuits and gravy, omelets, burritos, things of this nature. The lunch menu and dinner menu are the same. We’ve got cheesesteaks, burgers, (hot) dogs, we’ve got crinkle-cut fries, pierogies. The cheesesteak is the focus.

“The pierogi is an East Coast favorite. It’s a Polish delicacy. It’s dough that they stuff with potatoes and cheese, and then it’s sautéed or deep-fried. I sauté mine. That’s a must have.”

Rosevelt thinks the new venture will fill a community need and be a positive addition to the community.

“It’s tough. You’re concerned that the business may not be enough to keep you afloat. We felt it was going to be a good fit,” he said.

For now, the restaurant, located at 311 High St. — the old Shorty’s location — will be open 12 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

They are in the process of updating the inside. Rosevelt said TVs are coming for those who want to watch live sporting events with their cheesesteak meal.

“We are going to installing four TVs on the wall, so that we can make a big deal over Super Bowl, World Series games, fight nights, things of this nature. We feel cheesesteaks and football go hand in hand. We’re going to be doing that. We’ll be playing the games live. Sundays are important for us. We love football, we figure other people will, too.”

Rosevelt said they are also working on obtaining the proper licensing to serve beer. That includes getting a state, county and city license.

“There’s a lot of hoops to jump through to get that license, but it’s mostly the expense of it,” Rosevelt said. “Eventually, it will be coming (on board).”

In addition to William Rosevelt, others helping include his wife, son, son’s fiancée and daughter.

The restaurant is cash only for now, but Rosevelt said that will change soon. They are still waiting to get a machine to process debit and credit cards.

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