Business Insider Spending Christmas Decorations
TALLMADGE — Each year, Sammie's Bar and Grill transforms into a winter wonderland.
The ceiling drips with thousands of bulb ornaments. Garland, snow and twinkle lights accent every architectural feature. Elves hang onto light fixtures and snowmen sit in every nook and cranny.
Outside, there's more garland and lights, a giant wreath, two 3-foot-tall drumming nutcrackers and, of course, a never-ending loop of Christmas music.
"It's crazy because I didn't even put everything up," said Sam DeLapa, namesake of the restaurant and the force behind the annual Christmas display.
She has been decorating the family restaurant for about five years. She was inspired by Rolf's, a New York City restaurant that spends $60,000 each year to put up 15,000 Christmas ornaments and 100,000 lights, according to Business Insider.
"I went to visit around Christmas and I wanted to replicate it as much as I could," she said. "I knew my mom would love it, so I had to try it at Sammie's."
Sam, whose favorite holiday is actually Halloween, said she grew up in a home where Christmas was a big deal. Her mother, Lynne, who co-owns the restaurant with husband David, would have displays in every room, decorations on every door and garland everywhere.
Lynne, herself, grew up in a similar home in West Akron.
"It was big house with tall ceilings, I want to say 15 to 16 feet, and they didn't have trees that big, so my dad made a big crate so the tree would hit the ceiling," Lynne said. "I was the youngest of nine so that made lots of room for presents. They never put it up until Christmas Eve when we were all in bed. I probably believed in Santa until I was 12 because there's no way the two of them did that in one night.
"So she's third generation Christmas obsessed, most definitely."
The first year, Sam bought all new ornaments and lights to outfit the South Avenue restaurant. Each year she purchases more ornaments and displays and finds a new area of the restaurant to decorate.
This year's newest addition are the exterior decorations. The Christmas tree, decorated by Lynne, also gets more elaborate each year.
"I think I'm Hobby Lobby and Michael's No. 1 customer," Sam said.
With every new ornament and every new display, Sam has to spend more and more time to complete the decorations.
This year, the ceiling alone took her 7½ hours, and she later found out that there were two more bags of ornaments still in the basement. She started the day after Halloween, and finished the entire display before Thanksgiving.
"I started early, but people start asking me about the bulbs in August," she said, both on social media and at her 9-to-5 job as Tallmadge's recreation program coordinator.
She also did the full display last year, despite COVID-19 restrictions.
"I thought it would be too much work, but now if we don't put it up, there's going to be a lot of disappointed people," David said. "I debated decorating last year, but my wife said that COVID wasn't going to stop her from enjoying Christmas."
Sam plans to continue to grow the display and hopes that eventually her full vision will come to fruition.
"There's nothing like this around here, so I have to make it crazy," she said.
Sammie's Bar and Grill is located at 498 South Avenue. The restaurant is hosting a Lunch with Santa from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 11. Call 234-678-8334 for reservations.
Also this season, Sammie's is holding a contest to see who can guess how many ornaments are hanging from the ceiling. Each guess costs $1, and the proceeds will go to a yet-to-be-determined charity or family in need. The competition starts next week, and the winner will receive a gift card to Sammie's.
Reporter Krista S. Kano can be reached at 330-541-9416, kkano@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @KristaKanoABJ.
About Sammie's Bar and Grill
Address: 498 South Avenue
Number: 234-678-8334
Hours: Mondays-Thursdays 4-9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Business Insider Spending Christmas Decorations
Source: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/communities/tallmadge-express/2021/12/02/christmas-sammies-bar-and-grill-tallmadge-holiday-lights-decorations/8748755002/