Sampino’s to take over ownership of Joe Marty’s By Lance Armstrong Lance@valcomnews.com
Joe Marty’s, an institution of the Land Park area at 1500 Broadway, is in the process of being sold. Michael Sampino, the soon-to-be new owner, is already running the business, which will officially become known as Sampino’s Kitchen at Joe Marty’s. In addition to continuing the operation of Joe Marty’s bar, Michael is offering a variety of Italian cuisine that is prepared in the on-site kitchen. Some of those dishes were served on March 10 when the business held its soft opening, which included live music by the Zorelli Jazz Collective. Michael is already a known figure in the local restaurant scene, having opened Sampino’s Towne Foods in a small strip mall at 1607 F St. more than a decade ago. Michael explained why he established his original restaurant. “We were actually doing wholesale for 15, 16 years,” he said. “I started the restaurant, because instead of me walking in with 352 pages of product (offerings) – lists for chefs – and planning it amongst all the other purveyors, I had an idea to put all my product on display, invite the chefs. “ They would walk in and they would see this (display) of food and they would visually order with their
Photos by Lance Armstrong
Left to right, Bill and Michael Sampino stand inside Joe Marty’s kitchen.
eyes from fresh pastas to raviolis to sausages to porcini (mushrooms) to heirloom tomatoes.” Sampino’s Towne Foods eventually became known for its popular Friday night dinners. Also a known figure at the Sampino’s eatery on F Street is Michael’s father, Bill Sampino. In recognizing his father, Michael said, “He was at David Berkley (Fine Wine and Specialty Foods in the Pavilions shopping center) for 19 years. They had the best deli 16 years in a row.” Continuing that tradition, Michael earned the same honors for
about nine consecutive years at his own deli on F Street. Another tradition extended by Michael is continuing the legacy of the name, Joe Marty (1913-1984), who was one of the greatest baseball players to emerge from the wellknown baseball city of Sacramento. A Sacramento native and a product of Christian Brothers High School’s sports program during the late 1920s and early 1930s, Joe Marty received a three-sport scholarship in baseball, football and basketball from St. Mary’s College of California, where he studied and played sports in 1932 and 1933.
In 1934, the San Francisco Seals, a Double-A minor league baseball team of the Pacific Coast League, acquired the rights to the then-20year-old Marty. Marty’s third season with the Seals was so successful that he attracted the attention of major league teams through such statistics as a league best .359 batting average, 215 hits and 17 home runs. His five seasons in the majors included World Series appearances, one of which occurred in an Oct. 8, 1938 game, in which he became the first Sacramento native to hit a home run in a World Series game. Marty also enjoyed success as a Sacramento Solons player for seven seasons, including the 1950 season when he held the role of player-manager. As a colorful business owner at 15th Street and Broadway, Marty would regularly be seen tending the bar on the west side of this watering hole, which was quite fitting of the term, dive bar. Michael noted that part of the arrangement in purchasing Joe Marty’s from Devon Atlee was for him to maintain the name and theme of Joe Marty’s. “Devon kept saying to me, ‘Just promise me you’ll keep the Joe Marty’s (name and) sports theme,’” he said. Michael, who uses Joe Marty’s name for his business and is keepSee Sampino, page 11
Opening Doors for Homeowners since 2007
10
Land Park News • March 23, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com
Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.