By MADOLINE MARKHAM
Sam’s owner Sammy Graphos wears a Birmingham-Southern shirt in support of HHS graduates he knows who now go to school there. He serves hot dogs, breakfast, and other “samwiches” from his 40-year-old restaurant on 18th Street daily. Photos by Madoline Markham.
Inside the narrow alley-shaped storefront of Sam’s on 18th Street is a wall that marks four decades of business. Plaques commemorate owner Sammy Graphos’ award-winning hot dogs and hamburgers as well as his and wife Sue’s involvement in the MS Walk. Photos of Graphos’ grandchildren and customers’ Christmas card photos are updated each year. There are signed photos of Bear Bryant and Mason the tornado dog, whom customer Dr. Bill Lamb rescued after the April 2011 tornados.
Forty-five-year Homewood resident Graphos, 70, has been working behind the grill at Sam’s Super Samwiches for 43 years. The first three years he co-owned the restaurant with his brother Pete, then called Sneaky Pete’s, before selling out that franchise.
Graphos now serves the kids of the kids who grew up eating his hot dogs “regular” (sauce, sauerkraut, mustard and onions) or “special” (with spiced ground beef) and his fresh-made hamburger patties, also topped with sauce.
Hot dog restaurants like Pete’s, Gus’ and Lyric all coined a similar sauce when they opened in the mid-1900s, but Graphos said his is the best.
The Homewood Star 