Talk:Sambo's

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There is another Sambo's in McMinnville, OR Area.

There are still Sambo's restaurants?
They had them in TN when I was a kid in the 70's, but Jesus. California and Oregon in the 21st century? WTF? Ifnkovhg (talk) 08:58, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

WP:FOOD Tagging
This article talk page was automatically added with WikiProject Food and drink banner as it falls under Category:Restaurants or one of its subcategories. If you find this addition an error, Kindly undo the changes and update the inappropriate categories if needed. You can find the related request for tagging here -- TinucherianBot (talk) 11:02, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

I thought I saw one in 1986
Unless I'm losing my mind I could swear that I remember seeing a Sambo's restaurant in the L.A. area, specifically the Long beach/Lakewood area, in 1986. Dr. Morbius (talk) 06:49, 6 September 2008 (UTC)


 * As well, for a fact I got out of the Army in early 1983 - so I am CERTAIN of the date. I then spent almost every night for a year hanging out with friends at a Sambo's restaurant on folsom Blvd. in Rancho Cordova, California. The restaurant changed to a Coco's. I remember seeing the decorations in wallpaper trim surrounding the top of the walls all around the inside of the restaurant featuring little Sambo and the tiger. I recall conversation over the early 1984 closure and why. I was told "Because some people think it's racist like everything else and they have decided to become offended by it." Bsdxlr8r (talk) 03:15, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Sambo's - the real cause of the demise...
Hello, I worked for Sambo's from 1973 to 1978. I started as a cook and became a manager/partner. In my experience racism was never a part of the company. Unfortunately for the founders, the innocent story from years in the past became synonymous with racism. This did not play a role in the demise of the company. The company failed because Sam Battistone Jr. (the founders son and the president of the company at the time) was too close to the New York investment community and not connected with the operations of the company while he was president. Sam wanted to sell the company to either W.R. Grace (who owned Coco’s and a few other restaurants at the time) or Marriot Corporation. Marriot wanted a coffee shop operation they could include in all their hotel projects. Sam was told to get rid of the manager/partners. No buyer of a restaurant corporation wanted built-in partners to muddy up the ownership and control of operations. Sam was clumsy and deceitful in his effort to convert Sambo’s from a manager/partner “mom and pop” type business to a “corporate” type of operation and in the process destroyed the company. Marriot bought Marie Callender’s when Sambo’s failed. I sued Sambo’s in 1977 when I was “fired” from my manager/partner position. I operated a restaurant in Portland at 82nd and Powell. My case was heard in Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland in the Summer of 1981. R.P .Jones was the judge in Superior Court. (Today Mr. Jones is a Federal Court Judge) I sued for fraud. The jury found Sambo’s guilty of fraud and awarded me $225,000 in general damages and $700,000 in punitive damages. (I never got a dime from Sambo’s … I did settle with them for their interest in the leasehold of two restaurants.) There is an article in Time magazine http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,949341,00.html that tells some of the story. Also in the Wall Street Journal July 21, 1981. I am now 28 years older (51) and a lot wiser. I have owned a restaurant business for the last 23 years. I am proud to be able to claim that my little company has out-lasted Sambo’s. I have three restaurants in Puyallup and Tumwater Washington and Great Falls Montana. Sambo’s was a great company with many great people. I learned some valuable lessons from my five years there. I have no regrets. Overall, it is a sad story about a successful and energetic company that had greatness in it’s future that was never obtained. Many good people suffered serious setbacks in their careers and personal lives. Some were so deeply hurt they suffered divorce and I know of at least one death from the overwhelming disappointment of the destruction of the company. My story is just a little slice from Sambo’s history.

Pat Cattin

Posted by: Pat Cattin | 07/20/2005 at 01:27 AM

Greetings. Sambo's corporate office hired me in 1978 to create a cost system. Sambo's had a 20,000 cattle herd in Texas to supply the chain's beef demand. However, I discovered fraud with the cattle which convicted 3 people. Rumors started about the quality of the beef. At the same time Sam Battisone told me the SEC was questioning the "Fraction of the Action" plan because it included stock. Managers could by Sambo's stock but were required to sell it back to the company. The SEC stated that was a restricted stock sale, therefore Sambo's cancelled the plan. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.58.180.26 (talk) 21:37, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

http://www.tommcmahon.net/2004/08/the_first_and_l.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.57.91.230 (talk) 05:43, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Battistone's grandson, restaurateur Chad Stevens, owns the only remaining Sambo's. He expresses a desire to revive the chain.
Any word yet on the return of Sambo's? Yeah Ferguson MO

Are they planning to sell franchises any time soon? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.67.35.97 (talk) 06:12, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Jolly Tiger
Was it a coincidence that the name is so similar to the "Jolly Nigger" as in those jolly nigger banks from back in the day? It seems like a play on the name much in the same way that the Nigger Hair Tobacco Company changed it's name to the Bigger Hair Tobacco Company. --98.236.11.20 (talk) 03:59, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Non-encyclopedic entry?
The Sambo's article has a heavy conversational tone to it, rather than the more stoic tone that an encylopedic entry should have. Skaizun (talk) 23:20, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

This users report has a very sketchy set of "facts". Some are sorta true and somewhat misleading. Some are flat wrong. Pat — Preceding unsigned comment added by CPATC (talk • contribs) 15:31, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

Excess comment?
The following comment, at the end of the main article section of Sambo's, should be changed to a "disambiguation", as it has nothing to do with Sambo's (i.e., if the single "Lil' Sambo's" diner was universally confused with the Sambo's chain, then that would be acceptable, although the comment, itself, would have needed a significant change to reflect that; however, that has never been the case):

"While there is a "Lil' Sambo's" restaurant in Lincoln City,      Oregon, it was never part of the Sambo's chain." Skaizun (talk) 23:20, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

If a reference is needed for this, I would suggest https://lilsambos.com/about-us/ 47.205.137.101 (talk) 12:06, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Photo of Former Location
The photo of a former Sambo's location serves no purpose on Wiki whatsoever. I nominate it for removal. LorenzoB (talk) 20:33, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Sambo's. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive {newarchive} to http://www.sambosrestaurant.com/across.htm

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Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 01:40, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Sambo's. Please take a moment to review my edit. You may add after the link to keep me from modifying it, if I keep adding bad data, but formatting bugs should be reported instead. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether, but should be used as a last resort. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20070312045227/http://www.sambosrestaurant.com:80/across.htm to http://www.sambosrestaurant.com/across.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 11:55, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Red Top Hamburgers a small part of Sambo's Restaurants
DRAFT

Sambo's restaurants also owned and operated several stand-alone hamburger stands; Red Top Hamburgers. There were two Red Top Hamburger stands in Santa Barbara; one at/about 415 North Milpas Street and one at #1 State Street. In the early 1970s, I was employed at the latter for about 2 years while attending the local city college. After employment at Red Top Hamburgers, in the early-mid 1970s I worked at the Sambo's Restaurant in Carpinteria for a couple of years. Although I don't remember the locations, I did visit 3 other Red Top Hamburgers in California. I believe there were 8-10 Red Top Hamburger stands in the western United States. Jeffe4sail 19:32, 1 October 2019 (UTC) Jeff Giles — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeffe4sail (talk • contribs)

Lincoln City Oregon photograph
There is evidence to suggest that the photo included in this article, is not technically relevant to the Sambo's chain or to the Santa Barbara restaurant. The Lincoln City, Oregon restaurant still exists. Its website, https://lilsambos.com/, states on its front page, "One question we are often asked is whether or not we were ever a part of the Sambo’s national chain. The answer is no. Our name is borrowed from the hero of a fictional story about an Indian boy, tigers, and pancakes written by Helen Bannerman in 1899."

A 1963 newspaper advertisement does show that said restaurant operated as "Lil' Sambo's Chicken and Pancake House". Skybunny (talk) 01:09, 7 June 2020 (UTC)