[massmike]

It was just in the northeast (big surprise) that they tried the name change.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949341,00.html
Aug. 17, 1981
....The restaurant chain has also been suffering from a major image problem. Black groups for years were offended by the company name, which brings to mind the children’s story Little Black Sambo. For this reason, the city government in Toledo tried unsuccessfully to block the opening of a restaurant there in 1978. The company denies the charge, claiming “Sambo’s” is a combination of the names of its two founders, Sam Battistone Sr. and F. Newell Bohnett. The company finally decided to switch rather than continue fighting. If No Place Like Sam’s leads to sales increases in the Northeast, the company may adopt it nationally.

[the OlLine Rebel]

It was a good place!

It’s extra funny (as usually is the case with these non-stories) that the story was about an INDIAN boy. Hell, tigers aren’t even in Africa.

But then, neither are water buffalo. Geesh.

[Iron Munro]

the controversy about the book led to accusations of racism that contributed to the 1,117-restaurant chain's demise in the early 1980s.

I wonder how many "people of color" lost their jobs when the race pimps drove 1,117 Sambo's out of business. I would guess that a minimum of somewhere around 10,000 to 20,000 were directly affected. The number is probably greater than that if you look at the other businesses that were impacted. Growers, pickers, processors, truck drivers, provisioners, maintenance, trash disposal, etc,. etc., etc.