Olivieri still says he's staying; Market board: Don't come back

Rick Olivieri hovered on the brink of tears at the close of business at Rick's Steaks in the Reading Terminal Market yesterday afternoon - and not because of the onions.

Yesterday was the day that market management said Olivieri had to vacate the stand his family has run for 25 years. But Olivieri, who is asking the courts to let him stay put, promised to be at work today.

"I plan to be here tomorrow and for the next 25 years," said the emotional Olivieri, the grandson of Pat Olivieri, who is credited with creating the cheesesteak.

But Kevin Feeley, the spokesman for the market's board, said management was prepared to take legal action to evict Rick's Steaks.

"If he is in that space come [this] morning, he is in that space illegally," Feeley said. "We're going to provide him written notice of that fact, tell him he is in violation, and we will take all appropriate measures to remove him."

Olivieri says he is being booted because he stood up to the board on contract terms while serving as president of the merchants association. The management, which wants to replace Rick's with rival sandwich maker Tony Luke's, denies the charges.

Earlier this week, Olivieri said he filed a complaint in Common Pleas Court, naming as defendants Ricardo Dunston, chairman of Reading Terminal Market Corp., plus general manager Paul Steinke and Tony Luke. He also said he had requested a temporary restraining order to allow him to stay in the market.

Feeley said the board was reviewing the complaint, but there was no indication that the request for restraining order had been filed.

Olivieri's attorney, Bill Harvey, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. *