Every community has its own neighborhood bar and grill. A place where everyone knows everyone, where the servers remember the names of patrons, and there’s always a favorite on the menu. They are locally owned and often have been passed down from one generation to the next, as they continue to service the children, and grandchildren of past tenants. Throughout Tucson, there’s no shortage of these destinations, but one particular neighborhood restaurant has now officially closed its doors.
Tucked off at the intersection of Grant and Silverbell Road, Famous Sam’s put out a quick announcement on its Facebook page that it was closing down for good. While word spread from within the walls of the restaurant, the Facebook post did not go up until the day of its closing, giving fans of the restaurant little time to scramble and make it out to the destination one last time.
Famous Sam’s has been operating inside of Tucson since 1963 when the original Sam’s Tavern opened up. It has always maintained that local dive bar and restaurant feel, with the first restaurant (located on the corner of Swan and 29th Street) featuring a jukebox, pool tables, plus some of the largest pastrami sandwiches around. Over the years Sam’s began to expand locally, adding additional destinations around town. Up until the end of last week, the brand had four locations spread around the city. However, now that the Silverbell Sam’s has closed, that number is down to three.
For fans of the closed restaurant, there will still be the opportunity to grab items from the menu, as it remains the same at the other spots, although for many the memories will not be the same. The remaining restaurants include locations at 3010 West Valencia Road, 8058 North Oracle Road, and 2048 East Irvington Road.
For anyone that has not yet been to Famous Sam’s, it is packed with the kind of greasy dive food many patrons have fallen in love with over the years. The Starters portion of the menu includes Sam’s Famous Chicken Wings, Sam’s Nachos, Chicken Quesadillas, Sliders, and Sam’s Fries. All burgers are a full half pound of beer, with some menu items including the Fireworks Chipotle Burger, the Mushroom Burger, and the Sam’s Cheeseburger. And while there are plenty of other goodies on the menu, the most popular has always been the Sam’s Famous Hot Pastrami and Cheese Sandwich. It is the menu item that helped put the restaurant on the map back in the 1960s.
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