Sam's no. 3

What Sam's no. 3 does

Sam's No. 3 is a privately held, family-owned full-service diner founded in August 1927 by Sam Armatas, a Greek immigrant, and currently operated across three locations in the Denver, Colorado metro area: Downtown Denver (1500 Curtis Street), Glendale (435 S Cherry Street), and Aurora (Havana). The business is run by the Armatas family partnership (Spero Armatas and grandsons Sam, Alex, and Patrick) and employs over 230 people across the three sites. Its core product is a traditional American diner menu of over 100 items spanning all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with signature items including the New Mexico certified Kickin' Pork Green Chili (made from a family recipe dating to 1927), fresh-ground hamburgers, omelets, breakfast burritos, Greek specialties, and a full bar featuring craft beer, Bloody Marys, mimosas, and margaritas.

The business operates on a direct-to-consumer dine-in model supplemented by online pickup ordering (via Toast Tab) and third-party delivery (via Uber Eats). Revenue is generated almost entirely through point-of-sale transactions across the three locations, with a small incremental wholesale stream from the 2017 partnership with Bueno Foods, which mass-produces the signature green chili for retail grocery distribution. There is no public financial reporting, no outside institutional investment, and no franchising or licensing of the restaurant concept itself. The technology stack is light and commercially available (Toast POS, Uber Eats, GiftCards.com), and the operational backbone is manual kitchen execution rather than automated systems.

The company's customer base is overwhelmingly local and decentralized, comprising Denver metro residents, downtown office workers, weekend brunch groups, sports fans, and multi-generational family patrons, with 70%+ of daily business coming from regulars. The brand has earned sustained third-party validation, including Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives (2011), Travel Channel, Yelp Top 50 in Denver (2021), Westword Best of Denver (16-time winner since 1998), and 5280 Top of the Town (two-time winner). Operations remain ongoing, with recent blog content through July 2026 confirming active status at all three locations.

Name

Sam's no. 3

Legal name

Sam's No. 3

Website

https://samsno3.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sam's No. 3 is a privately held, family-owned full-service diner founded in 1927, operating three Denver metro locations (Downtown, Glendale, Aurora) serving all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner to local residents, families, downtown workers, and weekend brunch crowds, with a signature New Mexico certified green chili also distributed through a 2017 Bueno Foods retail partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Breakfast & Brunch Fast Casual (THAFABAL)

Keywords

• Diner restaurants
• American comfort food
• Breakfast service
• Green chili
• Family dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Service: Traditional full-service diner generating revenue from customers dining in at three Denver metro locations. Serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day with a menu of over 100 items including burgers, omelets, burritos, and Greek specialties.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sam's No. 3 is a traditional full-service diner serving an all-day menu of over 100 breakfast, lunch, and dinner items across three Denver metro locations. The core product emphasizes generous-portion American diner classics with Greek and Mexican-influenced specialties, anchored by its signature Kickin' Pork Green Chili made from a 1927 family recipe using only New Mexico-sourced chilis. Revenue-generating activities include dine-in table service, online pickup orders, third-party delivery, gift card sales, and licensed retail distribution of its signature green chili through partner Bueno Foods.

Product overview

Sam's No. 3 is a traditional full-service diner offering a single unified dining experience across three Denver metro locations. The core offering consists of all-day breakfast service paired with a comprehensive lunch and dinner menu, centered on signature items like the Kickin' Pork Green Chili, oversized omelets, breakfast burritos, and hearty burgers. The restaurant's product portfolio includes dine-in service, online ordering/to-go capabilities, third-party delivery integration, and gift card products. A 2017 partnership with Bueno Foods expanded distribution of their signature green chili for retail sale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Service Dine-In Restaurant Service Traditional full-service diner experience with table service across all three Denver metro locations (Downtown Denver, Glendale, Aurora), serving an all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu of more than 100 items including burgers, omelets, burritos, Greek specialties, and signature Kickin' Pork Green Chili.
• Online Ordering and Pickup Digital ordering service that lets customers place to-go pickup orders through the Sam's No. 3 website for collection at any of the three Denver metro locations.
• Delivery via Uber Eats Delivery service that allows customers to order Sam's No. 3 food for delivery through the Uber Eats platform.
• Gift Cards Physical and digital gift cards redeemable at Sam's No. 3 locations, sold through the GiftCards.com platform and on-site.
• Retail Kickin' Green Chili (Bueno Foods) Mass-produced retail version of Sam's No. 3's signature Kickin' Pork Green Chili, manufactured and distributed by partner Bueno Foods under license, expanding the brand beyond the three restaurant locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75%+ employee retention rate (vs. industry average of 30%)

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bueno FoodscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2017Sam's No. 3 partnered with Bueno Foods in 2017 to mass produce their signature Kickin' Green Chili, allowing the product to reach consumers beyond the restaurant locations.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cracker Barrel: National family-style restaurant and country store chain with broad menu including breakfast all day. Comparable in family-style dining, broad menu offering, and nostalgic American positioning, though operates at significantly larger scale as a publicly-traded chain.
• First Watch: National breakfast, brunch, and lunch chain with hundreds of locations. Comparable in breakfast/brunch specialization and daytime-focused service model, though operates as a publicly-traded chain rather than an independent diner.
• IHOP: National full-service breakfast-focused restaurant chain. Comparable in all-day breakfast positioning and family diner appeal, though operates as a franchised national brand rather than an independent regional operator.
• Black Bear Diner: Growing family-style diner chain with locations across multiple U.S. states. Comparable in menu breadth, family-oriented positioning, and generous portions, though at greater scale and geographic reach than Sam's No. 3.
• Waffle House: National diner chain with hundreds of locations focused on breakfast all day and 24/7 service. Comparable as a broad incumbent diner operator but does not compete regionally in Denver; relevant as a benchmark for diner unit economics and breakfast daypart strategy.

Regional players

• Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard: Colorado-based fast-casual restaurant chain serving burgers and frozen custard. Comparable as a Colorado-headquartered food brand with regional concentration, though in the limited-service segment rather than full-service diner.

Direct peers

• The Breakfast King: Long-running Denver diner serving breakfast all day in the metro area. Direct local competitor in the classic American diner segment, targeting similar family and downtown worker customer segments.
• Snooze, an A.M. Eatery: Denver-headquartered breakfast and brunch restaurant chain operating multiple Colorado locations. Directly competes with Sam's No. 3 on the all-day breakfast/brunch daypart, share of stomach with Denver families, and weekend brunch occasions, with a younger, fast-casual format versus Sam's full-service diner.
• Lucile's Creole Cafe: Denver-based breakfast and brunch restaurant with multiple metro locations. Competes directly for weekend brunch traffic and family breakfast occasions, with similar full-service diner-style operations and a focus on specialty regional cuisine.
• Denver Diner: Classic American diner in Denver serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Competes with Sam's No. 3 on traditional diner fare, casual sit-down service, and broad menu offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/SAMSNO3
• Facebookfacebook.com/SamsNo3Downtown

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sam's no. 3