Miami isn’t a cheesesteak town. A new spot in Overtown wants to change that
Overtown entrepreneur Siddiq Kancey and his team planned to sell 80 cheesesteaks on their restaurant’s first day in business earlier this month. They sold 200.
A man walked in only a few hours after the opening, and Kancey had to deliver some bad news.
“Sorry, we sold out,” said Kancey, 30.
Miami is not known for its cheesesteaks — a hot sandwich with steak, cheese and your preferred toppings — and Kancey wanted to change that.
Kancey grew up in Coconut Grove. When he visited Philadelphia as a child with his mother Tanya, a Philly native, he enjoyed eating cheesesteaks and learned that having the perfect bread made for the best cheesesteaks. His favorite came from Ishkabibble’s, a South Philly staple known for its greasy steaks. Years later, Kancey appreciated cheesesteaks from D’Alessandro’s, a shop known for its amazing bread.
After graduating from Gulliver Preparatory Academy in 2014 and from Howard University in 2018, he moved to Los Angeles to work in the music business.
Kancey curated playlists for the streaming music company Spotify, but that changed in 2023 when his father, Musaddiq Muhammad, decided to expand an Overtown business, House of Wings, to Los Angeles.
Kancey grew up working with his father at the first House of Wings in Overtown and launched House of Wings Los Angeles in 2023. His family already owned the store space that now houses Tanya Jo’s, and after Kancey’s success in Los Angeles, they understood the value of starting another business in Overtown.
“When I was growing up in high school, we used to travel” to get cheesesteaks, Kancey said. “There’s a spot in Broward that we used to go to. ... There was nothing in Dade County.”
Even though operating a storefront is new to Kancey, something he didn’t do himself with House of Wings Los Angeles, he’s been inspired by the positive response to Tanya Jo’s. One man bought four cheesesteaks in four days.
This week, customer Racquel Williams, an Overtown native, made a visit to the restaurant after hearing about the sandwich shop from her cousin. “She heard about it on TikTok,” Williams said.
Kancey said he is now focused on creating customer loyalty.
“A customer really becomes a customer after their second or third try,” he said. “We want loyalty. We want you to be able to come back.”
Looking ahead, Kancey plans for the shop to be open late for customers to be able to buy cheesesteaks after dark, just as they would in Philadelphia.
In the meantime, Tanya Jo’s will provide people with the same authentic experience that its namesake enjoyed growing up as a girl in Philadelphia.
Tanya Jo’s Cheesesteaks
Where: 801 NW Third Ave., Suite 101, Miami
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays
More information: tanyajoscheesesteaks.com
This story was originally published October 16, 2026 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Miami isn’t a cheesesteak town. A new spot in Overtown wants to change that."
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