At Sam’s Cafe, feast for the eyes as well as the belly

Regulars know there's more to study at Sam's For Play Cafe & Catering in Santa Rosa than just the extensive menu.

With two locations in town, Sam's offers a charming blast from the past, with hundreds of collectibles and curiosities on display. From vintage stoves and tinned steel muffin pans to an old-time fire extinguisher in a can, there are eye-catching antiques and flea market finds decorating walls, display cases and shelves.

“Between the two restaurants there could be thousands (of items),” said Sam Anker, who opened her first namesake diner in 1985 in an industrial area on Sebastopol Road.

A larger restaurant with about 5,500 square feet followed on Cleveland Avenue near Coddingtown Mall in 2000, barely providing a decorating challenge. There's no shortage, it seems, of interesting items to display.

A black-and-white pin-up pose cutout of 1930s and '40s film star Betty Grable occupies space on one wall. Across the room, vintage snowshoes are on display. A sweet-faced Teddy bear rests nearby in a wooden chair.

Look closely and you'll discover a baby blue hand-held blow dryer dating to the 1960s, a commemorative Falstaff beer can from the nation's bicentennial, a metal and rattan vintage doll buggy.

Nothing was purchased online at sites such as eBay or Etsy. What Anker hasn't found at yard sales, antiques stores, estate sales, flea markets or thrift shops, her loyal customers have provided.

“A lot of customers have donated things,” Anker said. “It makes them feel it's their home away from home.”

Anker, 76, is more than a little pleased that her diners have an emotional stake in Sam's.

When she opened her first restaurant, she wanted to create a homey atmosphere where everyone felt welcome. “Kind of like a ‘Cheers,'” she said, referring to the friendly bar portrayed in the hit TV sitcom of the era.

Today, diners at both locales point fingers and crane heads as they spot favorite displays or discover new ones. The ever- changing showcase of vintage kitchenware, pop culture and local history takes visitors on a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane.

Anker's son, Troy Anker, 54, oversees operations and knows regulars by name.

Everyone, he said, has a connection to the displays. It might be the familiar lunchbox from the late 1970s “Mork & Mindy” TV show, or the rotary-dial telephone from a lifetime ago, or the wood-framed washboard once used at great-great-grandma's house.

“They all have stories,” he said. “Every single piece has a story.”

There are tributes to Sonoma County history, like the Yaeger and Kirk yardstick from Santa Rosa's old-time lumberyard, or the 1929 Analy High School letterman jacket once worn with pride on the Sebastopol campus.

There are Snoopy shout-outs to Santa Rosa's beloved late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, a Room 13 key from Santa Rosa's now-departed El Rancho Tropicana, a Sonoma County Harvest Fair poster from 1988.

Bay Area sports teams are celebrated, too, including the Oakland Raiders, who once held training camps in Santa Rosa. A framed photo is autographed by quarterback Kenny “The Snake” Stabler.

One item is especially meaningful to the Ankers - a framed photo of Sam Anker's father from 1952, wearing a cowboy hat as honorary sheriff of Santa Rosa's Montgomery Village Shopping Center, then in its infancy.

Another framed photo is autographed by Sonoma County resident Jon Provost, showing him from his boyhood decades ago when he starred as Timmy on the “Lassie” TV show.

Not one item has ever been damaged in an earthquake. Everything is well-secured, with double lines of wire keeping things in place along the shelves.

And nothing - repeat, nothing - has a monetary value. “As a disclaimer, nothing is worth over three dollars,” Troy Anker said with a grin. And despite the temptation for customers, nothing is for sale.

For regulars like Santa Rosa resident Karen Furia, enjoying the décor at Sam's is as much a draw as the tasty American comfort food and friendly service.

“Everybody loves looking at her collectibles,” said Furia, 74, a retired Santa Rosa City Schools employee. “Nobody does this kind of thing anymore. This is local stuff.”

Furia always finds something she hasn't spotted before, and has an appreciation for the effort that's gone into such an extensive display. She collects wooden thread spools and enjoys seeing other vintage items like those found at Sam's.

“This is a heck of a lot of fun,” Furia said, surveying the display during a lunchtime visit to the Cleveland Avenue diner.

Sam Anker is semi-retired now but still prepares the irresistible homemade pies so popular on the menu, including a top-selling tapioca. She no longer spends much time searching for antiques and collectibles - “stuff” as she calls it - but still can't resist an occasional shopping adventure.

“We don't actually go out and look for a place, but when we're out on a road trip and see a flea market, we'll stop,” she said.

Her son is nearly apologetic as he admits he's had to turn down offers of rather large items to display.

“I've had to say, ‘Thank you but no thank you,'” Troy Anker said.

The mother and son are grateful for every offer, every compliment and every question about their showcase. The engagement with diners is what it's all about.

Employees, too, donate items, such as a “Wizard of Oz” movie poster shared by server “Anita Raise,” the moniker selected for her name badge. (Servers select their own tongue-in-cheek names).

They joke that at times, it's hard to tell whether diners are flagging down a server or just pointing out a collectible they've spotted.

Keeping hundreds - perhaps thousands - of items clean and dust-free is an ongoing task, but it's simply part of the job. The work is rewarded by the pleasure the collection brings.

Although Sam's offers a catering service and runs an express diner in the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park, the antiques and collectibles are limited to the two Santa Rosa restaurants.

Stopping in for a bite is a unique experience.

Even Troy Anker, who works countless hours at the restaurants, never tires of diners mentioning they've eaten something “just like that” at home. He hears it “every single day, multiple times a day,” he said. “It's cool, very cool.”

Sam's For Play Cafe - named for making time for fun and dining out - is open daily at 1024 Sebastopol Road (for breakfast and lunch) and at 2630 Cleveland Ave. (for breakfast, lunch and dinner).

For details, visit samsforplaycafe.com.

Contact Towns Correspondent Dianne Reber Hart at sonomatowns@gmail.com.