Legendary Ralph Sampson’s restaurant opens in Charlottesville

By Jerry Ratcliffe

If you’ve always wanted to meet Ralph Sampson, Virginia’s three-time national basketball player of the year, your opportunity has arrived, wrapped in an invitation to his new restaurant in Charlottesville.

“Ralph Sampson’s American Tap Room,” is open for business only a 3-pointer away from John Paul Jones Arena. Located at 973 Emmet Street N., Ralph’s new house sits in front of Barrack’s Road Shopping Center in the building that formerly housed Zinburger.

Boasting a full menu with such delights as the “Tony Bennett steak,” the “Terry Holland meatloaf,” and a “Ralph Sampson All-American burger,” diners have a lot to choose from along with great appetizers, desserts and a full bar. The restaurant, presently open from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Mondays through Sundays, will eventually add brunch and lunch.

“It has been fun to see people in the restaurant,” Sampson said. “Our sign was up for months but we had some supply-chain issues that delayed our opening. Now that people are in it, we didn’t understand how big the restaurant was until we saw it full.”

Sampson, a member of both basketball halls of fame, has spent a lot of time in the building, especially since its soft opening earlier this week. There will be a grand opening on April 8-9-10.

“A lot of us had input into the menu, although I had some ideas about certain items,” Sampson said, including the burger named after himself, the Bennett steak in honor of UVA’s men’s basketball coach and the Holland meat loaf, a recipe lended by Ann Holland. “Coach Holland loved meat loaf and we wanted to offer a good-sized portion in his honor.”

Sampson’s mission was to produce really good food in a really good atmosphere. Mission accomplished. He didn’t want to turn it into a sports bar, but rather a solid restaurant decorated with Sampson memorabilia, including a huge mural of the original photograph of “Ralph’s House.” Virginia fans will remember the aerial photo of University Hall from when Sampson made his official visit to UVA basketball.

When Sampson flew over the facility in a helicopter, he couldn’t help but notice the huge black letters atop the white, clam-shell shaped roof that read: Ralph’s House. At least one of the conspirators who hoped to sway Sampson’s decision was in attendance at the restaurant’s soft opening. His name will remain anonymous because … oh, what the hell … it was Bobby Edwards.

Over time, Sampson plans to add some more basketball decorations to honor his basketball history and some UVA greats. He already has an artist working on renditions of his jerseys from his days at Harrisonburg High School, UVA, the Houston Rockets and his hall of fame jersey.

“The response has been great,” Sampson said. “We’ve had people from Harrisonburg, Richmond and obviously the Charlottesville area to come by.

“The biggest thing to me is incorporating the UVA vibe, so when people come back to town they will have a place to come home to. I want to create a special program for former and current athletes. I want people around the world to know what a great school this is and at the same time honor Coach Holland as much as I can to let him know what he meant to this school. To me, that’s what it’s all about.”

Sampson said his job is to mingle with guests and to come up with creative ideas for marketing purposes.

“I’ve been asked why I didn’t do this a long time ago,” Sampson said. “I didn’t know that much about restaurants years ago. Restaurants are hard to run. But I love this location. You can’t get any closer to JPJ unless you’re at McDonald’s over there. This location is perfect.”

So make plans to drop by Ralph’s House, new house, and meet the Hall of Famer, and enjoy the food and atmosphere. While you’re there, make sure to meet Ralph. He’s anxious to meet you.