Sambo's

Sambo's is a restaurant, formerly an American restaurant chain, started in 1957 by Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnett. Though the name was taken from portions of the names of its founders, the chain soon found itself associated with The Story of Little Black Sambo. Battistone and Bohnett capitalized on the coincidence by decorating the walls of the restaurants with scenes from the book, including a dark-skinned boy and tigers. By the early 1970s, the illustrations depicted a light-skinned boy wearing a jeweled Indian-style turban with the tigers. A kids club, Sambo's Tiger Tamers (later called the Tiger Club), promoted the chain's family image. By 1979, Sambo's had 1,200 outlets in 47 U.S. states. However in the late seventies controversy over the chain's name drew protests and lawsuits in communities that viewed the term Sambo as a pejorative towards African-Americans, particularly in Northeast states. Several of the restaurants were opened as or renamed to "The Jolly Tiger" in locations where the local community passed resolutions forbidding the use of the original name or refused to grant the chain permits.^[1] In March of 1981, in a further attempt to give the chain a new image the company again renamed some locations, this time to "No Place Like Sam's".^[2] By November of 1981, the company filed for bankruptcy.^[3] Neither the name change nor bankrupty protection reversed the downward trend, and in 1982 all but the original Sambo's at 216 West Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara, California, closed their doors. [1] In its last days as a chain, Sambo's was sued by Dr Pepper for plagiarizing the latter's popular television commercial in a spot Sambo's ran to promote its new senior citizen discount program. Sambo's was also sued by non-white employees and applicants who were alleging discrimination in hiring and advancement. Battistone's grandson, restaurateur Chad Stevens, owns the only remaining Sambo's. He expresses a desire to revive the chain. There is a "Lil' Sambo's" restaurant in Lincoln City, Oregon, but it was never part of the Sambo's chain.^[4] Battistone is also the original owner of the New Orleans Jazz in the NBA.[2] He later moved the team to Utah and sold it.

In Popular Culture

• Sambo's was the setting for the shot-on-video 1983 Andy Kaufman/Freddie Blassie My Dinner with Andre spoof My Breakfast with Blassie.
  
• A Sambo's can be seen in the background behind the gas station where Navin Johnson works in the 1979 movie The Jerk.

References

External links

• The Original Sambo's Restaurant