Our History

Mike and Maria Galluzzo and their two young children, Gino and Flo, emigrated from Italy in March of 1973. Two weeks later, Mike and Maria's third child, Joe, was born. Mike and two other partners started Sam’s during March of 1974 in Rockton, Illinois. A second location was opened in September of 1974. In 1978, Sam’s opened a 3 rd location in Rockford, Illinois. Over the next decade, the partners opened two additional locations in DeKalb, Illinois and in Janesville, Wisconsin. In 1990’s, the partners decided to separate the restaurants to allow the individual families to have their children involved in the day-to-day operations of the restaurants Over the next couple of years, Gino was finishing up his bachelor degrees in Operations Management at Illinois State University. In 1992, Sam’s broke ground on this location, the current and largest of the Sam’s franchise. In March of 1993, Sam’s Ristorante on Riverside opened its doors! In 1998, Sam’s completed construction on our current banquet facility that seats up to 600 people.

 

Currently, Owners Joe and Gino Galluzzo welcome you and your family and friends to enjoy traditional and some not so traditional menu items. Buon Appetito!!

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Many thanks to all of our customers that have made our 48-plus years in business a great success. We hope that you and your family and friends enjoy your experience here at Sam’s.