A Salute to Veterans at Sam’s Burger Deli

I received a dining experience at Sam’s Burger Deli in exchange for my fair and honest review; all opinions are my own.

Sometimes your place in life is far greater than you can ever expect, and sometimes, you have no clue what your place will be until it happens. This Veterans Day, I want to tell you a real-life story of a gentleman, Sam Edwards, and how his life puzzle fits together in the most unexpected of ways.

Sam Edwards is the owner of Sam’s Burger Deli in Armuchee, Georgia. Armuchee is located in Northwest Georgia, just north of Rome. Sam’s Burger Deli sells excellent entrees such as burgers, Philly’s, pizza, and deli sandwiches as well as delicious sides, appetizers, and desserts. I’ve been told that Sam’s onion rings are the best of all time.

Although his food is top-notch, that isn’t all that makes Sam’s special. When you walk inside, you realize that the restaurant is a tribute to veterans who served in America’s Armed Forces. American pride adorns his walls.

A Tribute to Veterans

After serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, Sam then worked as a journalist for 35 years. Sam returned home in 2009 after many close calls while covering the war in Afghanistan. After retiring from journalism, Sam decided to open a restaurant. Sam had developed his cooking skills while in college before he joined the war effort. He purchased, planned, and renovated the current Sam’s Burger Deli building in 2016.

On a typical Wednesday in 2012, a World War II vet visited Sam’s Burger Deli wearing a blue hat. Sam began chatting with the gentleman, and he asked the man, “If you will tell me your worst story in the military, I will tell you mine.” The gentleman obliged, and Sam learned he was a B-24 raider during the Ploesti Oil Fields Missions during Operation Tidal Wave.

The missions were raids on Hitler’s oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania, in August 1943. Ploesti refined 30% of Germany’s oil, and Hitler knew that if Ploesti fell, Germany would be in grave danger of losing the war. The raids included daylight or low-level bombing (to avoid detection by German radar) of the refineries.

The raiders flew out from Benghazi and Libya and traveled 1,350 miles to bomb Ploesti. Their successful raids directly contributed to the victory at the Battle of the Bulge because they starved the Germans of fuel. The raiders’ daylight bombing and low altitude flying led them to become easy targets during the missions. They also had to deal with flying 1,350 miles back to safety. The man in the blue hat spoke of how every day when he got in his plane, he knew that he had a 25% chance of never coming back.

Sam was in awe as he sat with the gentleman and listened to his story. He decided after speaking with the man that he wanted to snap the man’s photo and place it on the wall in the restaurant. Sam was called to the kitchen for a second, and when he returned, the gentleman was gone.

Five minutes after the experience, a local, Mr. Fowler, came to dine at the burger deli. Mr. Fowler was a double war veteran (World War II and Korea), and Sam knew right away that he wanted to put Mr. Fowler’s picture on his wall. Sam left the space open for the man in the blue hat, just in case he ever returned.

The next Friday (two days later), the burger deli was hopping with business. A friend of Sam’s, JB, came in to dine with his wife. JB asked Sam about Mr. Fowler’s photo, and JB reminded Sam that he, too, was a veteran. Sam and JB took a picture together. Sam printed the photo and immediately hung it on the wall with a thumbtack. The next morning, Sam’s flying buddy, Spanky, walked in and asked what JB’s pic was doing on that wall and not his? That was 2,300 pictures ago…

As for the man in the blue hat, a year later the gentleman wore his blue hat into the restaurant again. Sam realized that the gentleman had dined many times since, but this time he was wearing the identifying hat. Sam learned that the man in the blue hat was Mr. Bill Payne, a local optometrist. Mr. Payne’s photo made it’s proud and rightful place on Sam’s wall. Thanks to Mr. Payne’s inspiration and Sam’s creativity, a new era of Sam’s Burger Deli began. These simple events would soon impact more people than Sam could ever imagine.

Sam lost Mr. Payne and Mr. Fowler in 2019. However, their memories and legacies will forever be preserved at Sam’s Burger Deli.

In Memory of Eli King

Three years ago, one of Sam’s friends came into the burger deli and asked where Eli’s picture was. Sam and Eli grew up together in Rome, and Sam lost Eli during the Vietnam War. Placing Eli’s picture on the wall, honoring Eli’s contribution to this great country, gave the photos a deeply personal element to Sam.

The last time Sam saw Eli was in 1972 as Eli was leaving for his second tour in Vietnam. When they were parting ways before Eli left, he looked at Sam and told him that he wouldn’t be coming back. Eli was all too familiar with the war. Sam had no words for Eli at that moment. Eli never made it back. Each year when Sam wakes on Veterans Day, he salutes Eli with reflection and prayer. With Eli’s picture now hanging at the restaurant, others have the opportunity to salute and honor Eli as well.

Why a Burger Deli?

People often ask Sam why he chose the restaurant business when his background is in military intelligence and journalism. He jokingly tells people that it was from the brain damage from the last explosion. However, the truth is that cooking has been a gift of Sam’s from an early age.

Sam has been making burgers since he was a student at West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia. He would make the burgers for the guys in his dorm on Friday nights. Sam would put numbers in a hat. If you drew the right number, you would win one of his 30 burgers. Folks would sell their numbers for $10 (Sam made sure he got a cut of the profits). He won the best burger at the Carroll County Fair that year in college. If you plan on ordering the burger when you visit, you will understand why his burger is now called semi-famous.

Lucy ordered a burger on our last visit. The burgers are served upside down. The traditional bottom bun isn’t thick enough to absorb the patty’s delicious juices. When eating, you are supposed to pick the burger up (upside down) and flip it over as it heads into your mouth.

Philly’s are another topic of conversation at the burger deli. Sam’s Philly creation gained inspiration from a 1985 visit to a food truck in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was my pick on our last visit. There is nothing like the blends of meat and cheese, combined with a toasted butter bun, to give cheesesteak lovers a new favorite place to eat them!

Onion rings have to be just right for me to like them. Sam’s onion rings are more than alright. They are light, crispy, and an absolute favorite menu item at the restaurant. Sam said that the onion rings took two months to perfect. The restaurant now goes through over 100 pounds of onions every two days for onion rings. The rings are subject to the meticulous art of timing when frying.

Other amazing menu selections include:

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Sam’s Story

Sam Grew up in Rome, Georgia. He lived on a farm until he was four years old when his family moved to the local mill village. In the 1970s, Sam decided to join the Vietnam War effort. He served in the Army Security Agency, a division of the National Security Agency. He was stationed in Southeast Asia, primarily Thailand and Laos.

Sam served in the Army Security branch of the National Security Agency from 1972-1975. Shortly after he first joined, the Army gave him a series of protocols to determine Sam’s intellectual functioning and emotionality levels.

After surviving a brutal attack, Sam was medivacked to the Philippines with skull fractures and extensive injuries. He and a special forces officer were attacked by more than 30 men. Sam had six operations within about two months while in the Philippines due to all of the bones being broken in Sam’s face. He spent his last month of service recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. While at Walter Reed, the Army wanted to determine the extent of Sam’s brain damage, so they gave him the same protocols used when he had originally entered the Army Security Agency. Sam’s IQ had increased 18 points after the damage.

After the war, Sam went on to become an aid to Jimmy Carter during the Carter presidency. He then became a successful freelance journalist for 35 years. In 2009, while covering the war in Afghanistan, Sam had three near misses within three months. He decided it was time to come home.

Sam used to live in a treehouse. He was featured on World’s Most Extreme Homes and on HGTV 16 times for his unique living quarters. His house has a real submarine, helicopter, and airplane attached as rooms.

In Plane Sight

Sam opened the new location of his burger deli in 2016. You can’t miss the restaurant as you travel down Highway 27 in Armuchee because the front of the restaurant and many inside attributes were designed from an authentic airplane.

The plane was not part of the original concept. Sam’s wife thought the new restaurant needed some pizazz, maybe a decorative awning. Sam had a dream that the fuselage of an airplane was featured on the front of the restaurant. Rather than searching for an awning, Sam went on a search for an airplane. In his endeavors, Sam found the plane that was similar to the one in his dreams. The burger deli never again looked stark!

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Sam uses the plane to raise scholarship money for children of purple heart recipients, both living and non-living). He recently acquired a second airplane to add even more flair to the plane restaurant.

The Bigger Picture

As we were visiting Sam’s Burger Deli, a gentleman, two tables away was dining with his family. He was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and is now on a kidney transplant list. Across the room sat a gentleman who served in Iraq.

Sam’s Burger Deli is not just a restaurant for the veterans of northwest Georgia. It is a second home, a common ground for those who experienced what civilians may never be able to grasp. These veterans are surrounded by their brothers, both on the walls and throughout the tables in the restaurant.

Sam loves chatting with his fellow veterans. He truly understands what it means to have been at war. What started as an awe-inspiring story by a man in a blue hat has become a place of solace for those who have served.

Sam’s is also a place for civilians like myself to visit and pay homage to veterans. Many families of veterans who have passed come and dine by their pictures.

Sam’s life has been so fascinating that he had his autobiography published in 1999. Who would have known that the best was yet to come? His life events have come unexpectedly full circle by honoring and understanding veterans every day. What a privilege it is to dine at such a place.

If you are close to Rome, Georgia, and would like a good meal and the opportunity to pay homage to the veterans whose pictures adorn the restaurant walls, Sam would love to have you. If you are not close, come anyway. I promise you will be glad you did! 

Have you thanked a veteran today? We would love to hear from you. Please drop us a line in the comment section below!

Check out other great dining experiences with the Rusty Bike and the Sunrise Grille!