Try it before it opens in 2025

Bradley Cooper can add restaurateur to his already filled resume!

The Master actor teamed up with Danny DiGiampietro, the owner of Philadelphia’s beloved Angelo’s Pizzeria, to open the very first brick-and-mortar store of their new food venture, Danny & Coop’s, in New York City’s Alphabet City neighborhood in January 2025.

But people can try the restaurant during its soft opening on December 20, 21 and 22 – at 151 Ave. A in a lively spot opposite Tompkins Square Park. During these dates, the store will only serve one meal: the Philly cheesesteak.

Danny & Coop’s has its first post up Instagram page on December 20, announcing the soft opening and informing hungry cheesesteak fans that they were open on Friday and will be open again on Saturday at 3pm and on Sunday at 5pm – until the cheesesteaks run out.

So of course I, as a local cheesesteak And Cooper fan, headed to the new spot Friday evening to experience Danny & Coop’s in person.

Before the soft launch, the restaurant was family-run, with DiGiampietro’s daughter and niece at the cash register taking orders. They informed me that there was a line waiting for an hour before they opened at 6pm, but by 6:45pm it was mostly gone.

Content creators online documented Cooper hard at work in the kitchen, with Mike Chau writing: “Coop stood on the line out of sight of the dining room making these top-notch cheesesteaks.”

Knowing there would be an open line, I tried to avoid the wait by getting there at 7pm and to my surprise the room was free. I was greeted by Cooper before he jumped right back into the kitchen. There was only one menu option – a hearty, classic Philly cheesesteak – and within minutes I received my order in a nice to-go box with the company’s logo on it.

Feeling like eating, I rushed home and pulled out what looked like a foot-long sandwich. The bread was still warm and filled to the brim with “Cooper Sharp and onions,” or a cheesy, onion-like mixture. From the first bite I was obsessed: the gooey texture melted perfectly and the steak was cooked to perfection. What more could a girl want on a rainy Friday night?

Cooper’s girlfriend, model Gigi Hadidalso promoted the soft open on her Instagram Stories the same day.

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Bradley Cooper makes cheesesteaks; girlfriend Gigi Hadid eats a cheesesteak at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in May 2024.

London Entertainment / SplashNews (2)

This isn’t the first time Cooper has brought the beloved Philadelphia delicious to town. A year ago, in December 2023, Cooper joined DiGiampietro at a pop-up food truck in the West Village neighborhood, handing out the $18 cheesesteaks.

DiGiampietro said The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time, the two had been looking for a permanent location for their cheesesteak business for two years, but rent prices proved to be an obstacle. “Do you know what they want in this neighborhood for 700 square feet?” DiGiampietro said. “Eighteen thousand a month!”

A year later, the duo found a home for Danny & Coop’s.