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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Sue and Ted Graphos stand outside the new location of Sam’s Super Samwiches in downtown Homewood as construction continues Feb. 10.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Ted Graphos meets with Dean Smith, the construction manager with Prier Construction, as they look at the floor plans while construction continues on the new location of Sam’s Super Samwiches in downtown Homewood on Feb. 10.
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Ever since he left Sam’s Super Samwiches’ 18th Street location last fall, Ted Graphos has had one thing on his mind.
“From the minute we closed the other store, I couldn’t wait until we were selling hot dogs again and serving customers,” Graphos said.
Graphos is the son of Sam Graphos, the longtime owner who served up hot dogs and renowned customer service for decades in the small 18th Street shop. Sam died on Oct. 5, and soon after, the restaurant was out of its longtime home, looking for a new location, which Ted Graphos found next to SoHo Standard in the former Edible Arrangements space.
“It’s coming along,” Graphos said of the renovation to the future home of Sam’s.
The plan is to open April 1 and to keep it as close to the 18th Street location as possible, he said. The flat-top grill and pellet ice machine have made their way up to the new location, and Graphos plans to maintain the “homey” feel of Sam’s.
“We’re doing as much as we can to keep stuff from the old store,” he said.
The menu won’t change, but there will be additional seating, Graphos said. While there still will be barstools and a countertop, the restaurant will have a few tables to seat more customers.
Not much may be changing at the new Sam’s, but that isn’t a bad thing, Graphos said.
“It worked for 51 years,” he said. “I’m not going to think that I can improve too much on what we had.”
Sam made the restaurant special, along with all of the loyal customers they developed relationships with over the year, Graphos said.
“A lot of customers know each other from there,” he said.
Graphos said he’s even heard of people meeting their future spouse at the restaurant. Families being formed at Sam’s is fitting, as the restaurant is a family affair. While Ted works at IberiaBank, he’s heavily involved in running his dad’s restaurant, and his mom, Sue, is also helping out. His daughter is working on the restaurant’s website, and his sister is helping with marketing. His brother-in-law, an attorney, is helping take care of all legal matters.
And while Paul Cook may not be related to the Graphos family, he was Sam’s right-hand man for 14 years and will now take over the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
“You don’t really have a certain job,” Cook said. “You just do everything.”
While maintaining the same “vibe” Sam’s had for so long will be hard without the restaurant’s namesake, Cook said he’s ready to see it opened back up.
“I still have customers calling me every day asking questions,” Cook said.
Taking over for Sam is a “big responsibility,” Cook said, but he is glad he gets to do it.
For Graphos, there have been moments where he thought to call his dad to ask him a question and then, remembering his passing, worked to recall what his dad taught him. There isn’t much room for improvement on what his dad did, he said.
Bringing the restaurant back is “fulfilling” personally, Graphos said.
“We have gotten so much support from the community,” Graphos said. “It makes me really feel like we’re doing the right thing.”
To prepare the new space, crews gutted the interior of the building and constructed new walls, Graphos said. He and other family members have worked to coordinate with the restaurant’s vendors so they are ready for business as well, he said. In early February, Graphos said he was just waiting “for the last screw.
“It’s still a work in progress,” he said. “I wish we could start today.”
Graphos said he can’t go to Piggly Wiggly without someone stopping him and asking when the restaurant is going to open, and people have offered help left and right.
“All of that’s been a real blessing,” he said.
The city of Homewood has made plans to open up more parking across the street at the former police station, he said.
“Parking is certainly a premium anywhere in Homewood,” Graphos said.
Other business owners in the surrounding area and throughout Homewood also have been very supportive, Graphos said. That has been especially helpful when it comes to the financial side of the business, he said.
“I know how to do the work, but Dad always handled the financials,” Graphos said.
Even past employees have volunteered their time, Graphos said. They still want to see the restaurant serving the city.
There will be a handful of jobs being offered at the new location, Graphos said.
Graphos said the hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. That gives people the option to hit the “trifecta” as Graphos calls it: eating at Sam’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Owning and running Sam’s isn’t as much about the bottom line as it is serving the community and continuing the family legacy, Graphos said.“The store has just been part of our lives for so long, it’s hard to imagine not having it.”
