AKRON, Ohio — Northeast Ohio can't get enough of Cleveland Browns QB Joe Flacco.
As Flacco prepares to lead the Browns into the AFC wild-card game against the Houston Texans on Saturday, one Akron restaurant is honoring the 38-year-old.
Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks and Grille has created the "Wacco Flacco Cheesesteak," which is now being served at its location on South Main Street. The restaurant describes the sandwich as an "amazing marriage of tasty grilled ham, zesty salami, chopped sirloin, our blend of cheeses and caramelized onions topped with sliced tomatoes, banana peppers, shredded lettuce, and Flacconaise."
If you like extra hot sandwiches, the restaurant suggests adding spicy giardiniera.
Ed Sutter, owner of Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks, tells 3News that the sandwich came about after a series of Browns social media posts he made to the restaurant's page gained a lot of traction, including one photo of Flacco's family that garnered more than 60,000 reactions.
"I put that out there, and it went berserk," Sutter said. "It went, what I would call, viral."
From there, the idea to create a custom cheesesteak was born, with Sutter even taking suggestions from followers about what toppings he should include on the sandwich. He describes it as a combination of an Italian hoagie and a cheesesteak.
"The reviews we've been getting are great," he gushed. "The combination of it seems to work."
Since he started selling them on Tuesday, customers have been eager to try it out.
"Yesterday we sold a ton — probably close to 100 of them, or something like that," Sutter said. "Today, we're bracing ourselves."
Shannon Ricchiuti was in line to try a Wacco Flacco for lunch Friday, and was also picking up Wacco Flacco orders for her coworkers.
"It's something different that he had on the menu, and of course, the Browns," she said. "We're all excited for the Browns on Saturday, so we just thought it would be a fun thing to do for today."
Kathy Carpenter also ordered a Wacco Flacco for lunch after first seeing a segment on the cheesesteak while watching WKYC.
"Eddie's a great guy," she told us of Sutter. "He puts out a great product, so it's awesome to see people support small business."
When 3News was at the business Friday afternoon, customers were lined up through the restaurant waiting to get their sandwiches. Sutter says the phone has been ringing constantly with people placing orders.
"The comments are pretty heartwarming," he said of the attention he's been receiving through this cheesesteak. "I’ve been doing this for a long time. It hasn’t always been easy; we’ve been through a lot, so it's kind of surreal to be honest with you."
Are you ready? You can watch the big game as it airs on WKYC with coverage throughout the afternoon. Here's the TV schedule for the AFC Wild Card game:
- 2:30 p.m. Pregame huddle
- 3 p.m. NBC's Football Night in America
- 4:30 p.m. Browns vs. Texans
