Charleys Cheesesteaks Now Open in Aspen Hill

Charleys Cheesesteaks opens today at 13617 Connecticut Ave. in the Aspen Hill shopping center. This is the third Charleys location to open this year in Montgomery County. Last month, Charleys opened inside of the Germantown Walmart at 20910 Frederick Rd, in the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s. In June, Charleys opened a location at 19877 Century Blvd in Germantown, in the space that was previously home to Roll by Goodyear and Yogi Castle in the Shops at Town Center & Century Station shopping center. Charleys has additional locations in Bethesda, Clarksburg, Gaithersburg, and Wheaton.

Charley’s now has over 600 stores nationwide. Newer locations have adopted a new menu concept, offering chicken wings and ice cream in addition to its Philly cheesesteaks. “Tossed-to-order, the wings are made with 10 chef-inspired flavors ranging from Angry Ghost and Nashville Hot to milder options like Zesty Lemon-Lime Rub and Sweet Teriyaki.”

The restaurant opened its first location across the campus of Ohio State University in 1986. While studying real estate at the school, Charley Shin worked in his mother’s Japanese/Korean restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. A wrong turn on a family trip to New York City resulted in Charley’s discovery of the Philly cheesesteak. Charley convinced his mother to sell her restaurant, and invest her life savings of $48,000 into Charley’s, a 450-square-foot restaurant across the street from Ohio State’s campus.