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A recently reopened Philly cheesesteak joint hired armed security guards to protect customers and staff as the City of Brotherly Love faces an ongoing crime wave.
"What we have become accustomed to in society is to react to issues once they happen," Victoria Wylie, co-owner of Jim’s West Steaks & Hoagies, told Fox News. "It's too late. One incident where someone is severely hurt or even passes away from me is not acceptable."
After Jim’s West was hit with an armed robbery, the Philadelphia cheesesteak spot's new owners decided to hire security to protect customers and staff when it reopened in September. (Victoria Wylie)
"We're thinking about preventing violence and crime from happening versus reacting to violence and crime happening," Wylie continued. "We did it as a deterrent and a precautionary measure to really just say that we are thinking about all possible situations that could happen, and we want customers to know that safety is really important to us."
Philadelphia, like many U.S. cities, has grappled with a crime surge in recent years, leading some businesses to take drastic steps to keep their customers and employees safe. The city surpassed 500 homicides the last two years, and overall crime was up nearly 16% year-to-date, according to Philadelphia Police Department data.
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"When I think about Philadelphia and the community which we serve, the West Philadelphia area, crime there is still very prevalent," Wylie said. "So being someone who is reopening a business that's really popular, that people have been waiting for, we don't know who's coming."
"We wanted to be proactive," Wylie said. "One of the proactive measures we took was making sure there was security in place."
A West Philadelphia restaurant hired armed security to protect the customers and staff amid rampant crime across the city. (Screenshot: 6ABC Philadelphia)
A security guard carrying an assault-style rifle was seen standing outside Jim's West Steaks & Hoagies in a video posted to its Instagram account when the restaurant reopened on Sept. 9. Wylie told Fox News the guards, hired to protect customers, will be there every day during business hours.
"We did this because we want to protect our consumers," Wylie said. "We want to protect our employees, and of course, we want our business to be safe."
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Two suspects robbed a market a West Philadelphia market at gunpoint earlier this year as crime escalates citywide. Jim's West Steaks & Hoagies co-owner Victoria Wylie says her business is hiring armed security to prevent crime before it happens. (Philadelphia Police Department)
Under the previous ownership, armed robbers collectively stole $215 from the register and customers of Jim's Steaks in 2015, the Philly Voice reported.
"We don't want that to happen to our business," Wylie said. "These were some of the factors that contributed to why armed security was decided on in this ownership."
The city faced nearly 70,000 property crimes in 2022, a 30% increase from the year prior, according to Philadelphia Police Department data. Armed robberies, meanwhile, have decreased by nearly 13% but are still up from pre-pandemic levels.
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In September, groups of thieves targeted and ransacked several businesses across Philadelphia over multiple nights. Nearly 20 state-run liquor stores were looted, leading the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to announce that it was closing all 48 of the city's retail locations until it was safe.
Police respond to widespread reports of looting in downtown Philadelphia in September. Some businesses were forced to close down for a day until it was safe to reopen. (FOX 29 Philadelphia)
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For Patriot Pharmacy, one of the stores ravaged in September, it was the third time in three years the business had been hit, store manager Benjamin Nochum told The Associated Press.
"When looters steal from us, what they don’t seem to understand is that they are also stealing from our neighbors," Nochum said. "It makes you question how much longer you can hang on."
Wylie says she won't let the city's rampant crime keep away her customers. She hopes consumers will see they are only hiring armed guards to keep them all safe, so they can keep enjoying their beloved cheesesteaks. (Victoria Wylie)
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But Wylie told Fox News she won't let the city's rampant crime take away from her business.
"We do this to deter that type of stuff from the beginning," Wylie said. "We want people to know their safety is our priority while giving people the delicious cheesesteaks that they love."
Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
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