PHILADELPHIA — Ismail Muhammad grabbed a handful of chopped chicken last week as the grill behind him sizzled. He used those hands — the ones that were crafting a cheesesteak egg roll — a few days earlier to knock out another foe, sprinkling more promise on his boxing career. And now he was back in the kitchen at Essie’s Steaks, the spot he owns on a corner in East Germantown.
Boxing and cheesesteaks have long been two of Philadelphia’s greatest exports. Muhammad, a 21-year-old who has won his first two professional fights and has owned Essie’s since 2019, is trying to master both.
“I don’t want to say I didn’t have a choice but boxing was one of the first things I knew,” Muhammad said. “And my dad always had a restaurant growing up. I was always in the store with my dad so I always wanted to be like my dad.”
