Sam's Crystal River Seafood

History

Sam Bajalia has spent the last 30 years of his life in the restaurant business. His first job, as a dishwasher, gave him the drive to learn all aspects of the business and he quickly worked his way up to District Manager. Sam's father founded a restaurant in 1983, two blocks from the St Johns River - thus the name: Sam's St. Johns Seafood. In 1987, Sam Jr. headed to Tallahassee to open his first Crystal River Seafood. Over the next 10 years, he & his wife opened 4 restaurants in Florida, Alabama and Georgia. After their 1st child was born, the pull to go home and be close to family was great. They relocated back to their native town, where everyone joined together to run the company as a true family-owned and operated business. It became Sam's Family of Seafood Restaurants after Sam Sr.'s passing in 2005. Sam Jr. now runs the business and holds to the core beliefs that he and his father shared: quality food at a reasonable price, customer is king, and cook each meal to order.