Jason Furst and Chef Sam Pinner first met in high school while attending Paideia, an independent private school in Druid Hills just east of where Briarcliff and Moreland intersect in Atlanta. They’ve been best friends since their days at Paideia, paralleling each other’s restaurant careers, and even moving across the country to live and work during the pandemic.
It only made sense to Furst and Pinner that they would eventually partner in a restaurant, which came to fruition this month in Adair Park.
Located at Abrams Fixtures on Northside Drive, Sammy’s opens early in the morning for breakfast sandwiches and coffee, before shifting to lunchtime sandwich options in the afternoon. And while the sandwich shop is only open until 3 p.m. on weekdays, Furst and Pinner plan to expand those hours into the evening, and maybe add weekend brunch. Cocktails are also in the works, as is providing space for chefs to pop up during off days at the sandwich shop.
Furst is likely a familiar face to people who frequent BoccaLupo in Inman Park. As the Michelin-rated restaurant’s general manager since 2021, sporting long brown hair and a full beard, he’s often found at the host stand greeting guests or making the rounds in the dining room. Pinner also worked in the kitchen at BoccaLupo from 2021 to 2022.
But it’s not the first time the two have worked together. Pinner worked as a line cook at KR Steak Bar, getting Furst a job there as a food runner. Later, at Kevin Rathbun Steak, Pinner was a sous chef, and Furst was the beverage manager. After moving to Washington state during the early days of the pandemic, Pinner ran a series of barbecue pop-ups out of a restaurant on Bainbridge Island, while Furst ran the beverage program.
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When fellow Paideia alumni, Matthew and Andrew Braden of real estate group Braden Fellman, offered them restaurant space at Abrams Fixtures, Furst and Pinner decided to pull the trigger on Sammy’s. The standalone sandwich shop rounds out the food and beverage options at the Adair Park development, which include omakase restaurant Ryokou, private wine club and dinner series space The Vine Club, and a cocktail experience called Seventh House from the team behind Bovino After Dark.
“Sam and I have worked together. We’ve lived together. We’ve been best friends for a really long time, and we’ve always talked about opening a restaurant together, so this kind of ended up being the perfect opportunity,” Furst said. “Partnering with people we know helps, and then the Adair Park location just spoke to us. It felt like the right time, right move.”
Pinner, who also worked at Atlas for a time, leans into his fine dining background with the sauces and condiments at Sammy’s, while channeling those days smoking meats for the Bainbridge Island barbecue pop-up.
They purchased the same model smoker Pinner used in Washington from a company out of Brunswick, GA. He smokes pork butt for the Uncle Sam’s barbecue sandwich and the Cuban served on bread sourced twice weekly from Pan American Bakery on Clairmont Road. For the Reuben, Pinner brines the pastrami before finishing it on the smoker. The Reuben comes topped with Southern-style coleslaw, based on his mother’s recipe.
Furst and Pinner want Sammy’s to reflect their love of sandwiches, Atlanta, and the people working in the city’s restaurant industry. In addition to hosting local pop-ups in the future, Furst and Pinner assembled a small, talent-packed team to work at Sammy’s.
Look for coffee and matcha drinks from Jordan Neuman (Chrome Yellow Trading Co.), using beans and ceremonial grade matcha from Methodical Coffee in Greenville, SC. Amelia Hicks (BoccaLupo) and Amaya Weaver handle all things front of house. Connor Hammond, Furst’s bar lead at BoccaLupo, will run the cocktail program at Sammy’s once its liquor license is finally in place. For now, Hammond will focus on creating house-made syrups to use in coffee and other drinks, like strawberry rhubarb, brown sugar vanilla, and honey lemon.
With Pinner in the kitchen, Furst oversees daily operations at Sammy’s and will continue working as general manager of BoccaLupo until chef and owner Bruce Logue hires his replacement. Logue, he said, has been nothing but supportive of Furst and Pinner’s venture into restaurant ownership.
“Opening your own business is really scary. I’ve been really happy at BoccaLupo. I love it there. I love Chef Bruce and our team, but we’ve always wanted to open a restaurant,” Furst said. “We have a really tight-knit group of six. That’s part of the plan at Sammy’s. Just like at BoccaLupo, it’s about consistency and quality at Sammy’s, so you’ll see all of us here working pretty much all the hours we’re open.”
Take a look at the menu for Sammy’s below:
Sammy’s, 565 Northside Dr., Adair Park. Open Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.