Sam took over Sweet Sound Café in October 2019 and had major plans in order to boost the reputation of the café and attract higher footfall. He chatted to us about how he really enjoyed working with the staff at the café and took them under his wing, “I sort of adopted them as my family”. He told us how he helped the staff host fundraisers, raising £1100 for The Right Reasons café, “We had a quiz night and one-man-band along with a hot and cold buffet”, “it was great”.

Sam talked to us about how the pandemic affected his business when it first hit in March. He explained that he came in to help the café in the summer of 2019 as they had no chef. “I looked at it and took over around the end of October, so we only really had the place open for around four months before Covid hit”. Sam told us about how the loss in business has resulted in fewer opening hours and limited exposure to the local community; “We had quite a lot booked on the run up to Covid, loads of parties and private functions. We had done a lot of renovation as well including putting in a seating area outside and we had planned to build a BBQ around the side of the building for the summer months”, “but that all got put on hold once Covid hit”.

Despite the impact of the pandemic on business operation and revenue flow, Sam’s Grill continues to lend support to the surrounding community. In December 2020, Sam provided food to homeless shelters, care homes and local churches across Belfast, as well as providing NHS staff at the Ulster hospital ICU with Christmas lunches. Sam continues to remain optimistic about the future of Sam’s Grill and claims that once it is allowed, the grill will be open for sit-in and private hire. “We are ‘bring your own’ and have all the soft drinks and utensils that you would find in a bar, which should be popular in the summer months and when we can open again”.

Sam also told us about his plans to introduce a mental wellbeing night for men in the local area. “The wellbeing evening for local men is just a chance for us all to get together, watch some football and listen to a few guest speakers including Irish League Footballers and Pastors to cover all areas”. He explained to us that the evening would be called ‘Bout Ye’ in order to steer away from the mental health stigma, claiming that the evening was for all men whether they suffered from mental health issues or not. “‘Bout Ye’ would be held once a month on a Wednesday evening for local men”.

You can help support Sam’s Grill by liking and following his page on Facebook