A Philly-style cheesesteak joint is taking root on Santa Fe Drive, where co-founders Chris Sempeles and Kyle Pellman are turning a building in the Art District into both a restaurant and a commissary kitchen. The business, now called Jawnie’s Cheesesteak Co., was then aiming for a spring 2026 opening, with a menu built around cheez whiz, hoagie rolls and a $16, nine-inch Philly cheesesteak.
The name is new. As The Denver Post reported, Sempeles and two friends purchased the building at 674 Santa Fe Drive earlier in October 2025 for $690,000, according to public records. At the time, the business went by Guilty Pleasures Grub, but it has since changed its name in advance of the restaurant’s opening. Jawnie’s Cheesesteak Co. describes its sandwiches as authentic Colorado cheesesteaks.
From a Food Truck Rental Side Hustle to a Brick-and-Mortar Build
Sempeles, 37, and childhood friend Kyle Pellman launched a food truck rental business in 2019 and have spent the past six years running it under the name ProtoTaste. The venture has been modest but steady: the station’s report noted that the company’s single food truck took in $50,000 from 10 different users in 2024, nine of whom rented more than once. That side business is what put Sempeles in position to take on a sit-down restaurant and commissary kitchen at once.
The project involves permits and a restaurant build-out. Per the original Denver Post report, the project had carried a $250,000 buildout budget as the owners aimed for a spring 2026 opening.
A Menu Built on Pennsylvania Roots
Sempeles traces his cheesesteak obsession back several generations. He is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has said his great grandfather came over, started a restaurant back in Harrisburg, and then his grandfather had a diner. That family history shows up in the sourcing: Jawnie’s uses bread from a local baker with Pennsylvania roots, pairing it with cheez whiz shipped in from back east for the signature sandwich…