Sam's Restaurant has served red-sauce Italian classics from the same spot on Court Street in Cobble Hill for 96 years, and this fall it very nearly closed for good. Instead, a 37-year-old waitress who spent five years as a regular at the counter is now the one holding the keys, determined to keep the century-old institution running rather than let it become another shuttered storefront.
Georgia Fulton, who is originally from Australia and spent 12 years as a server at the nearby Long Island Bar on Atlantic Avenue, began eating at Sam's weekly in 2021, according to Patch. That relationship eventually turned into something much bigger: when longtime owner Lou Migliaccio decided to retire at 69, he chose to spend six months training Fulton personally rather than listing the restaurant commercially or selling to a restaurant group, as BKMAG reports.
Migliaccio was the last family member tied to Sam's, a line that stretched back generations. The restaurant's report from PIX11 notes that Fulton has said she would do everything to keep Sam's going and wants to honor its family-owned tradition.
A Family Legacy Two Decades in the Making Before the Migliaccios
Sam's actually predates the Migliaccio era by twenty years. The restaurant was founded in 1930 by brothers Danny and Sam D'Arco, but Sam died before opening day, and Danny named the place in memory of his brother, per Patch's historical reporting on the restaurant's origins.
Mario Migliaccio, Danny's nephew, emigrated from Ponza, Italy, in 1950 and ran Sam's for 60 years alongside his wife Rose. His son Lou was born in the apartment directly above the restaurant and grew up to manage it as a lifelong fixture, the same report notes, making his eventual retirement the end of a nearly century-long family chapter.
Recreating Recipes That Were Never Written Down
Migliaccio never wrote down formal recipes, instead measuring ingredients using specific coffee cups and dishes passed down through habit rather than instruction. That left new chef consultant Andrew Halitski, who previously ran Brooklyn pizza spot La Rose and worked as a sous chef at Flora Bar, to reconstruct the menu's classic dishes from memory and informal guidance, according to Grub Street's reporting shared via Facebook.
Fulton kept roughly 90 percent of the traditional menu intact, including chicken parm and baked clams, per PIX11's account. Longtime customer Alicia Andrews sampled the baked clams and described them as very lemony and a great take on a classic, the station reported. Halitski did add a handful of subtle new dishes alongside the brick-oven pizza and red-sauce staples, including rigatoni alla vodka, orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage, Caesar salad, and pork chop Milanese, according to the Grub Street post.
A Delayed Reopening and a Modernized Back of House
The restaurant's official reopening was pushed from midsummer to September 10 after a film production crew rented out and occupied the historic dining room for a shoot, a recurring revenue stream for Sam's under its prior ownership, per the Grub Street report. To move the business past Migliaccio's informal, largely one-man operation, Fulton installed a digital point-of-sale system, built out service stations, and hired a full floor staff, according to Patch, since Migliaccio had previously handled host, server, and bartender duties entirely on his own.
What she did not touch were the details that made Sam's a magnet for film crews in the first place. The restaurant's original 1930s brick oven, 1950s wooden phone booths, vintage murals, and red vinyl booths have long drawn location scouts seeking authentic retro New York scenery, and Fulton intentionally preserved those interior elements during the refurbishment, Patch reports. PIX11 confirms the restaurant kept its red vinyl booths, the 1950s-era phone booths, old photographs, and a mural intact after reopening a few weeks ago.
Longtime Regulars Return to a Familiar Room
The Farina family has visited Sam's for six decades, PIX11 reports. Carmen Farina, a Brooklyn native who went on to become New York City schools chancellor, described the restaurant as a mix of Brooklyn's new and old. Another regular, Nick Spriggs, said he loves that Sam's keeps its tradition, according to the same report.
Migliaccio himself has been staying at his family's home in Ponza, Italy, and is expected back at Sam's soon, PIX11 notes. Fulton has said she expects him to be emotional when he returns, and that she believes he will like what the refurbished restaurant has become.
A New Chapter on Court Street
Sam's survival marks a new chapter on Court Street. A 96-year-old restaurant passing from longtime owner Lou Migliaccio to devoted regular Georgia Fulton is a notable change.
