Restaurateur Steve Martorano, who left South Philadelphia three decades ago for greater glory in South Florida and beyond, is coming back in 2023 to open an Italian steak house at Rivers Casino Philadelphia in Fishtown.

No one seems more surprised than Martorano, 65, a guy with a big personality who wears his heart for his hometown on his heavily tattooed sleeves. “I always wanted to come home,” he said, marveling at his career progression, from operating an underground sandwich shop out of his apartment to succeeding as legitimate restaurateur with locations in Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and most recently Pittsburgh.