PITTSBURGH -- The Primanti Brothers celebrated their 75th anniversary in style on Saturday -- and all on their own street.

Piled high and topped off with slaw and fries, their legendary sandwiches are a culinary wonder as the iconic establishment hosted a free music festival outside its Strip District location.

"Primanti Brothers is synonymous with Pittsburgh. When people come to town and they visit this area, they always visit Primanti Brothers," Mayor Luke Ravensthal said.

Humble beginnings marked the start of Primanti Brothers in 1933.

"Primanti Brothers started with a sandwich cart down here in the Strip District," said Marc Teklinski, director of operations for the restaurant chain.

The brothers soon moved into their current Strip District location and soon after they began putting the fries on the sandwich.

As legend has it, a driver for a nearby potato warehouse wanted to see if his frozen potatoes were still good. So, he went to Primanti's.

"He asked the cook, Joe Deprider, at the time to throw the potatoes on the grill. He fried some up, threw them on a sandwich and the customers loved it, and the rest is history as they say," Teklinski said.

Primanti's welcomes anyone, anytime and has become a favorite among the late-night crowd looking for an after-hours snack. The eatery has also become a favorite pit stop for campaigning politicians.

"What's really neat about it is it's taking on a national image and every presidential candidate feels they have to stop here to get southwest Pennsylvania votes," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said.

U.S. Sen. John McCain, recently stopped by the restaurant during a stop in Pittsburgh on July 9 (McCain Talks Economy At Trib; Makes Cigarette Joke).

The Primanti Brothers sold the restaurant to another local owner in the 1970s. Now, there are 16 Primanti's locations, including two in Florida.

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