Angelo’s Pizzeria Popularity Crowds South Philly Neighborhood

Angelo's Pizzeria have become legendary on social media for their pizzas and cheesesteaks. While people from across the country and around the world continue to flock to one South Philadelphia pizzeria seeking food, neighborhood residents say they're concerned about the impact this influx of visitation has on their quality of life.

At Angelo's Pizzeria at Ninth and Fitzwater streets in South Philadelphia, customers standing in line stretch for blocks. People often wait for more than an hour to order from the takeout-only shop. Which is open only eight hours a day, five days a week.

Some people stay in the area even after receiving their orders. They claim spots to eat on stoops in the neighborhood and leave trash behind. Parked cars often clog the streets. The rising popularity of Angelo's Pizzeria isn't sitting well with some in Bella Vista.

"I have people who camp out on my steps and eat and leave trash. And then the car doors are open … It's a two-hour wait, so they sit in their cars for two hours and wait, with music blasting," one person who wished to remain anonymous said in an interview with CBS News Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, April 23, Councilmember Mark Squilla hosted a community meeting to create conversation between residents and attorneys representing Angelo's owner Danny DiGiampietro.

DiGiampietro's attorney Peter Kelsen said the owner has taken measures to reduce issues. Such as asking his patrons not to loiter, partnering with the city to place traffic-calming barriers on the street outside the pizzeria, adding more trash cans outside his business, and applying for a permit for a designated loading zone.

"There might be some growing pains now, but I would hope that overall it would be a very good symbiotic relationship between them and the community," an Angelo's customer told CBS News Philadelphia.