Conor Flaherty, co-owner of Sam’s Anchor Cafe, is a Redwood alumnus who graduated in 2005. Upon purchasing the restaurant in 2017, Flaherty and his partners looked to become the “main event” of Main St. in Tiburon after many decades of the restaurant struggling. Having been born and raised in Tiburon, Flaherty grew up at Sam’s and loved the community of Marin. Sam’s Anchor Cafe has been around for over 100 years and predates the town of Tiburon by 40 years, making it a major landmark for all locals.

“It was more about just doing something in the hometown where I grew up and being part of the community,” Flaherty said.
Before the purchase in 2017, the cafe’s building fell apart and needed many renovations. Flaherty and his team identified the issues and began making the desired changes to fix up the restaurant and bring back customers to the historic site in downtown Tiburon.
“If you want people to come, you [have to] invest in it, and you [have to] make the place nice,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty’s experience at Redwood was nothing out of the ordinary, playing baseball and basketball for the Giants. He’s grateful for his time spent at the school, and a big part of Sam’s Anchor Cafe’s success has come from the Redwood community.
“Redwood will always have a very special place in my heart, and some of the investors also went to Redwood,” said Flaherty.
Flaherty went in with high hopes when he purchased the business in 2017 but quickly ran into some difficult times. He leaned upon his local network to help him through the struggles and found loads of support from the Redwood community, his alma mater.
“Having such a strong community, like Redwood, that is in your corner is as good of a way as I know to be successful,” Flaherty said.
A 33-year employee, Cinnamin Sartor, spoke about the fantastic additions that Flaherty and his company brought to the workspace upon purchasing the business. She noted how he made it very welcoming and easy for her and other employees at Sam’s.
A key trait of Flaherty compared to the previous owners is his youth, being able to progress Sam’s into the new world of social media and technology. He introduced new restaurant technology that made the employee’s work much more efficient and easy, ensuring that success could quickly increase.

“Bringing Sam’s into the modern world of social media, Facebook and advertising, I think it’s just been a game changer,” Sartor said. “We were the first restaurant that used a handheld computer system from Toast.”
Flaherty’s company was able to power through the many struggles, such as COVID-19 and the introduction of new restaurants on Main St, with all of the great yet simple additions added along the way.
“They’ve put a lot of money into [it], and I think that’s fantastic,” Sartor said.
Despite the obstacles standing in Flaherty’s way, Sam’s was able to use lessons from their tough experiences to succeed going forward.
“We’re just very fortunate to be where we are – And I think sometimes when you have a challenge, like COVID, it can make you better,” Flaherty said.