A $5,000 reward is being offered by the owner of South Philly’s Pat’s King of Steaks after, he said, an employee was attacked when a customer threw a cheesesteak in his face during an altercation on Wednesday. Pat’s King of Steaks owner, Frank Olivieri, told NBC10 that the incident happened at the shop, along the 1200 block of Passyunk Avenue, at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday when a man, who he believes was some kind of social media influencer, bought a cheesesteak, but mangled the sandwich, then complained about the food. “The guy played with the sandwich. I have it on video, just ripped the sandwich apart with his hands,” said Olivieri. After a verbal altercation, Olivieri said, the unidentified individual grabbed the cheesesteak and threw it at manager, Tom Francano, who has worked at the shop for 47 years. “The guy picked the sandwich up and threw it in his face and ran away, the coward,” he said. However, Francano told NBC10 he was unharmed by the cheesesteak in the attack. “I’m not hurt, I’m fine,” he said. Francano said he suspected something was awry with the customer the moment he stepped to the counter. The guy immediately seemed like an influencer “trying to make a little name for himself,” Francano said, as he walked around the business and took photos and video with a cell phone on a stick. “I knew exactly what he was doing,” said Francano. He didn’t concern himself initially with the man’s behavior as, Francano said, the man ordered a cheesesteak and went to a table. But, Francano said, he noticed the man “pulled apart and squeezed” the cheesesteak before he “mangles the steak up a little” and returned it to the counter. “He says ‘steak’s really horrible,’ you know,” recalled Francano. Francano replied that he didn’t make it that way and he saw what the man had done to the food. When the customer wasn’t satisfied with that answer, Francano said, he asked other customers at the shop if they had any issues with their meals. They didn’t, he said. “That’s when he got a little pissed off,” said Francano. “He got mad. He picked the steak up and threw it at me.” Though he was unhurt, Francano said he considered the incident an assault and he hopes the individual can be found and charged for his actions. “I’m not used to getting a steak thrown in my face, ya know?” he said. “If you don’t like the steak, be a little nicer about it.” The incident has been reported to police and officers were at the scene on Thursday morning. Now, the owner of the eatery is offering a $5,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest in this incident. The suspect, police said, has been described at being about six feet tall, weighing about 170 lbs. and was wearing a blue Under Armor jacker, black shorts and red Beats headphones when the incident occurred. No arrest had been made as of about noon on Thursday. “We will find him. $5000 will pull him out from under whatever kind of rock he’s living under now,” said Olivieri. The Philadelphia Police Department’s Tip Line can be contacted at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or anonymously online here. ...read more read less