Homewood Citizens are coming together to reopen Sam’s Deli & Grill

If you are familiar with the Edgewood area, you’ve must have stopped by Sam’s Deli and Grill. This staple sandwich stop is definitely a part of the Homewood community, so it is no surprise that when they needed help the city was behind them.

For 13 years this place has welcomed and served the Edgewood community and beyond. On January 28th, this beloved restaurant suffered an electrical fire that has forced the small business to close for repairs. The owner, Sam Daibes, was unsure of how long the restoration process would take.   Understanding the financial challenges this will cause the owners as well as their employees, Tracy Hanrahan, decided to rally the community behind Sam’s for a swift recovery.

https://www.instagram.com/p/03obrylgOY/?taken-at=573097552&hl=en

She has set up a GoFundMe page to accept donations for the Daibes family. The page has been shared 1.4K times on Facebook in the past two days. 210 people have helped to raise $8,390. The goal is $10,000 and they are almost there.

The community’s response has been overwhelming and so encouraging, especially to Sam and his family. They are very active members of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church where my family also attends. Not coincidentally, I believe, Sunday’s sermon was about being a Good Samaritan and loving our neighbors well. I had been concerned about the expenses I knew Sam’s Deli would incur in the process of rebuilding after the fire, and also knew being closed without income would present hardships for, not only Sam but also his employees. With that in mind, I decided to start the GoFundMe account. Initially, I just shared the link with my Sunday School class and had intended to keep it secret from Sam. I set the goal of $10,000, but really thought it would be amazing if we raised $1,000 or so. Well, the secret didn’t last long, because the community rallied so quickly and passionately behind the Daibes family. Before I knew what had happened, several thousand dollars had come in and it was all over social and other media! Sam and his family have been a huge blessing to the community, and people who know and love them have come together in remarkable ways to support them. It doesn’t hurt that the food is amazing either! – Tracy Hanrahan 

It just goes to show you how a little compassion can go a long way. Here’s to a speedy recovery to one Edgewood’s favorite eateries.