Today we’d like to introduce you to John Shipman.
Hi John, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My restaurant career started as a senior in high school washing dishes at a local restaurant in northwest Ohio. I later became the cook. I then worked in various restaurants as a put myself through college. After graduation from Bowling Green State University (BGSU), I went to USAF pilot training and became a fighter pilot. That led me to various duty stations in the US and Europe. One of those duty stations was Shaw AFB here in Sumter SC. I was stationed at Shaw twice, with Shaw being the last duty station. After leaving the AF in the fall of 1994 I worked for several years at the National Bank of SC (NBSC). It is through that job I met my lovely wife Donna (a blind date). We went on to own the Martial Arts Training Center, which I purchased from my instructor in 1997. Donna was also a Hearing-Impaired teacher at Sumter High School during this time. With her connection in the school district allowed me to get hired as a Social Studies teacher (which was the degree I received at BGSU) at SHS in 1999. We taught school during the day and martial arts at night. In 2004 Donna took a job waiting tables, at Ryan’s Steakhouse to help pay for a special cruise we wanted to go on (Rock and Roll Holiday Escape with Journey, Styx and REO Speedwagon). When Ryan’s closed a few years later, she went to work for Greg Penridge who owned Sambino’s Bistro. She worked there for 11 years until she broke her hip in a fall in the kitchen in 2019. I worked at SHS until November 2015 and then I went to Palmetto Unified School District, where I was the Career and Technology Director and later Assistant Superintendent. I retired from my education career July 2023. In 2020 we started a very small food trailer business that grew into a full blown food truck. We wanted to provide German food to the local area. I had never understood why we didn’t have a German restaurant in this military town. I bought a salvaged bread truck (like a UPS truck), rebuilt nearly the entire truck mechanically and outfitted it with all the necessary kitchen components. This was going to be part of our retirement plan. As the food truck business grew, people kept asking where our restaurant was or when we would have one; “because your food is so good.” We started looking for a location and wasn’t sure if we wanted to take that leap. In the spring of 23 Greg Penridge came to my food truck and told me he wanted to sell and he wanted it to be us (we had expressed a desire to buy several years before the food truck). We negotiated and in October of 2023 we took ownership. We opened as the new owners on October 18th, 2023. Several weeks later we shut down for a little rebranding, menu changes, kitchen reset, and cosmetic repairs. We reopened the first of November as Sambino’s European Bistro featuring German and Italian foods.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is never a smooth road. lots of struggles growing up, Struggles in college and then the AF. That is life. Go over or through your obstacles to make it to your goals. Struggles in the business include lots of repairs and smashed windows. In the first year we had to repair or replace the HVAC on the building; replace one of the windows that got broken out: our cooler went out and replace ovens. in the second year our freezer went out that was a 20k plus repair that insurance refused to cover. We have also had to replace every one of our prep station coolers. The other struggles are personnel related. Some of the people we started this journey with (and were an integral part) are no longer with us. The biggest struggle in a business like ours is being able to hire and keep quality workers. Luckily, we have only had to fire a few people who did not work out.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Sambino’s European Bistro?
We are a local eatery specializing in Italian and German Foods. we use imported Italian and German products as much as possible. All of our flours and pastas are European or Italian. We strive to provide authentic foods. I was born in Germany, and my mother is German and I was stationed there while in the USAF. Our German foods are very authentic. We also have outstanding pizzas, where I use an Italian dough making method which makes my pizza dough stand out. We pride ourselves in providing outstanding, high quality, excellent tasting and unique foods. Customers say our food is some of the best foods they have ever had.
What were you like growing up?
I was probably more of an introvert growing up, an only child. I was more mature than my peers in high school. By a junior in high school, I knew what I wanted to be as an adult, a fighter pilot. I was also goal oriented with some ADD. :Johnny is smart but can’t sit still” my teachers would say. My interests were football, flying, Military history, and I enjoyed cooking at home. I started at about 14 cooking for the family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sambinoseuropeanbistro.com
- Facebook: Sambino’s European Bistro
