George’s Sandwich Shop in the Italian Market returns

You can get cheesesteaks and roast pork sandwiches everywhere around here. But tripe, ground veal, and spicy veal tongue?

You'd have to seek out George's Sandwich Shop, which has been on Ninth Street just off Christian in the Italian Market seemingly forever.

George's closed about nine months ago in the fallout from the August 2017 death of Mark Onorato, who had run it for about three decades and was casually known as George.

Last weekend, George's reopened after a top-to-bottom renovation that brought the circa-1936 business into the 21st-century building code. It's still in the Vellios family, though — now run by Jonathan Vellios, great-grandson of founder George Vellios, who opened it as a curb stand. It's next door to Lorenzo's Pizza, a branch of the same family.

George's is still a snug hole-in-the-wall. L&I regs forced the removal of one stool; there are now seven seats at the granite counter, which faces the grill. The service window bears updated versions of the signs that George hung. There's the quirky "Sandwiches you will like" as well as the puzzling "Don't divorce your wife because she can't cook. Eat here and keep her for a pet."

What's new is breakfast, with egg sandwiches, and seven-day operation. Hours are ramping up to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

Menu is the same: all sorts of sandwiches, including the tripe, the veal, cheesesteaks, Italian sausage, and fish cakes, served on rolls from Sarcone's up the street. Ask for the hot seeded oil to pour on — it's a mixture of oil, seeded peppers, and au jus from the cooked meat.