Sam B’s

163 S Main St,

Bowling Green, OH 43402

www.sambs.com

FEATURED STORY FROM THE Best of BG – 2017 ISSUE

Sam B’s:

From Subs to Fine Dining, Sam B’s has Earned Its Spot in Restaurant lore

Jim Ferrell has a keen interest in what the future holds, but also a healthy respect for the past and where he’s been: From a little sub shop across from campus on East Wooster Street that he opened in 1972 with two college friends, David Kresak and Allen Powell, to a major restaurateur in Bowling Green today. “You know, they left the business after a year, but I still keep in touch with both and we’re good friends,” Ferrell says. “Dave owns a hair salon and I go to Cleveland each year to celebrate his birthday. And Allen is a computer genius and lives in Powell, outside of Columbus.”

Business at Sam B’s is good today, but not what it was pre-Sept. 11, 2001. Ferrell says “everything changed that day,” including the restaurant business and especially the way customers spend their disposable incomes. He’s quick to credit his brother, Walt, and wife of 25 years, Kathy Walker, for being instrumental in the success of the second and third versions of Sam B’s. Walker and Sam B’s manager Sandy Daum play a major role in running the current operation. Sam B’s features a healthy banquet business, with five banquet rooms seating a total of 250 people.

Today, Sam B’s is known for its many seafood dishes — especially the signature Maryland crab cakes, fresh salmon and shrimp Florentine — but the menu also includes other fine dining favorites such as chicken marsala, prime rib, pork chops and egg plant parmesan. And there are the 11 sub sandwiches, a daily reminder of Sam B’s’ historic past. “I’ve been doing this for 45 years, and I’m sitting in the best restaurant I’ve ever had,” Ferrell says with a smile. “I’m still excited to go to work each day … I’m still trying every day to figure out ways to make the place better. That’s what drives me.”

Sam B’s is a big part of not only Ferrell’s identity, but the city of Bowling Green’s as well. When asked about inspirational motivation, Ferrell referred to a quote from Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence”. Ferrell also said he believes that the evolution of Sam B’s is founded on that philosophy”

AN ADDITIONAL FEATURED STORY ABOUT SAM B’S CAN BE FOUND IN THE Best of BG – 2013 ISSUE