10/02/2026
Four years. It's still hard to believe I'm typing that.
I've been in Ringwood since 2010. But owning a restaurant was always the dream. Four years ago, we opened the doors to Sam's with a lot of ideas, a lot of hope, and absolutely no idea what was coming. I won't sugarcoat it, the first year was rough. I was learning on the fly, making mistakes in real time, in front of the whole town. There have been incredible days, hard days, long nights, mistakes, lessons, packed houses, wild weekends, and plenty of moments where I wondered what the hell I got myself into.
But through all of it, Ringwood showed up for us.
Somewhere along the way, Sam's became something bigger than I ever imagined. I've watched kids who used to run around Cupsaw Market grow up and walk into Sam's as adults, now dating, getting engaged and getting married right here. We've also hosted repasts for families saying goodbye to someone they loved. From first dates to last goodbyes, we've seen the full circle of life happen inside these walls. We've watched families celebrate birthdays and anniversaries here. We've watched kids grow up at our tables. We've celebrated graduations and retirements. We even had a wedding here.
That means more to me than any sales number ever could.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: Sam's is a restaurant first. Families eating together, sitting at the tables, gathering around the fireplace, sometimes fighting over who gets the seat closest to it. It's a scratch kitchen serving real food to this town every day, and yes, we've got cold b**r and live music too, but the heart of this place has always been the dining room. It's a gathering place where friends meet, neighbors catch up, employees become family, and guests become friends.
To every guest who has walked through our doors, ordered takeout, sat down for dinner, celebrated something special here, supported a fundraiser, shared one of our posts, recommended us to a friend or simply kept coming back, THANK YOU. There is no Sam's without you.
And there definitely isn't a Sam's without the incredible people behind it. Chef John Schafer runs our kitchen with talent and loyalty, plus he quietly keeps the food inventory and the books straight. Courtney Mathiasen, our GM and lovingly known as our "Momanager," started out making pizzas at Cupsaw as a kid and now runs Sam's like it's her own, keeping the liquor inventory so tight that Chef John's flabbers get gasted monthly, and she's not afraid to send him home when it's time to go. To our entire crew, our cooks, prep team, bartenders, servers, hosts, bussers, runners and everyone behind the scenes, thank you. A restaurant doesn't run because of the name on the sign, it runs because of the people who show up every day and put in the work when nobody is watching.
Most importantly, thank you to my wife, Rani, for putting up with the hours, the stress, the crazy ideas and, most of all, me, and to my daughter, Sahana, who's grown up in this restaurant and already has Courtney Aunty training her to take over one day. None of this happens without my family standing beside me.
We're not perfect. We've made mistakes and we'll probably make plenty more. But we'll keep learning, improving, giving back and doing everything we can to make Ringwood proud to call Sam's one of its own.
And we're just getting started. After a long time coming, our family finally opened The Greenwood Tavern in Hewitt, and something else might be popping up right here in Ringwood. Stay tuned, because there are some exciting new things on the horizon.
So from my family, Chef John, Courtney and every member of the Sam's family, THANK YOU, RINGWOOD. Thank you for believing in us, for supporting local, for trusting us with some of the biggest moments of your lives, and for making our restaurant your home too.
Happy 4 Years, Sam's.
Four years down. Year five might get a little crazy.
