About us
Famous Sam’s had its beginning in Tucson, Arizona in 1963 and was known as “Sam’s Tavern.” The small neighborhood bar served overstuffed pastrami and ham sandwiches and offered entertainment with pool tables, pinball machines, and televisions long before eatertainment was considered trendy. Sam’s Tavern took on the identity of its blue-collar patrons with a hunger for sports and entertainment, as well as good food to fill a hearty appetite. On the local level, Sam’s Tavern became extremely popular and became recognized as the convenient neighborhood “hang out.”
When Famous Sam’s was first franchised, the new locations were modeled after the original, a neighborhood sports bar that serves food. Most of these units were built into strip shopping center locations. Famous Sams falls into a contemporary restaurant industry term called “Eatertainment.” We offer our customers reasonably priced casual dining featuring “overstuffed/oversized” sandwiches and a full bar. Included on the menu are food items with a focus on appetizers, sandwiches, soups, and salads in the medium price range. Pastrami, chicken, burgers, and other deli-style sandwiches are our signature items. In addition, each Famous Sam’s offers a wide variety of domestic, micro, and imported beers, as well as wine and spirituous liquors. We also have a large number of televisions for viewing sports. We also offer game areas for adults and children with pool tables, darts, video games, and prize crane games. We combine both food and entertainment in a single venue for our customers. Our basic philosophy is the opposite of the majority of the restaurant industry. Our focus is on keeping the customer in the restaurant as long as possible, not quick table turns, by offering them things to do in a comfortable social atmosphere.