Butch Samp, owner of The Floridian diner in Fort Lauderdale, dies

Frank “Butch” Samp, gregarious owner of The Floridian diner and the unofficial mayor of downtown Fort Lauderdale who presided over four decades of late-night munchies, next-day hangovers, after-church family meals and every-morning coffee klatches with assorted politicos, cops and cronies, has died.

Samp, 75, had suffered from kidney disease for many years and died Monday morning at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale.

Services are planned for Thursday, May 4, at The Venue Fort Lauderdale, 2345 Wilton Drive. A visitation will be held from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Life service from 5 to 7 p.m. For information, go to dignitymemorial.com.

The Chicago native opened The Floridian at 1410 E. Las Olas Blvd. with then-wife Rose in 1979 and over the years created a nostalgic shrine to comfort food and community, illustrated in the signature “Meet Me at the Flo” T-shirts worn by waitstaff.

The Floridian became shorthand for classic Fort Lauderdale, the place you took out-of-towners to introduce them to an unaffected local vibe. VIPs looking for an inconspicuous meal — from Miami Dolphins star Dan Marino and the Food Network’s Rachael Ray to celebrity pianist Liberace, noshing on chili dogs with a companion — also found their way to the Flo.

From his seat at the head of a long table in the center of the dining room lined by celebrity photos, Samp hosted daybreak gatherings of local elected officials, law enforcement, and legal and business leaders.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said he met Samp when Trantalis first arrived in the city more than 40 years ago.

“It’s very sad. He was a pillar of the community,” Trantalis said. “His presence was felt when you walked in the restaurant. He was a cult figure in Fort Lauderdale.”

On Tuesday morning, the meetings continued with Samp represented by a photograph — he is pictured with sons Chris and Jake — placed at his favorite seat, along with vases of flowers. A revolving cast of well-wishers sat at the table throughout the day.

Fort Lauderdale attorney Fred Haddad began dropping by the morning confabs at The Floridian even before Samp owned it, along with other heavy hitters that included Yellow Cab owner Jesse Gaddis and Norm Kent, the criminal defense attorney, radio talk-show host and publisher of the South Florida Gay News.

“We lost one of the nicest guys in the community,” Haddad said. “He contributed to innumerable charities, gave any time anybody needed anything. A testament to him is how many people would come in to see him for breakfast. He knew everybody. He was just a great guy.”

“He was just an institution in this town,” said Fort Lauderdale retiree Mark Dibuono, while seated with friends at Samp’s table. “We were just saying that he had such a rapport with the young people that came in here. Children, they’d always come up to him and give him a hug and a kiss.”

Vincent and Leslie Scutellaro, 30-year Fort Lauderdale residents, dropped in to pay their respects to the man they called “the gateway into the community.”

Leslie Scutellaro taught Samp’s son, Jake, at nearby St. Anthony Catholic School, where she said Samp was “a big supporter.”

“It’s kind of hard to put it into words. He was just a really friendly guy, and a great host,” she said.

Rose Donnelly was married to Samp for 25 years before they divorced, and they had their two sons, Chris and Jake. The latter died in 2020 at age 32.

She and Samp came to Fort Lauderdale from Chicago, where they had owned a restaurant.

“We were young — I was like 27 and Butch was 30 — and we were hard workers. We persevered. We did whatever we could to get the business going,” Donnelly said, noting that at 9 years old Chris earned money to buy a bicycle by making toast.

The Floridian survived because of the community, both customers and nearby business owners, Donnelly said, recalling “Mario from Paesano’s,” “Abe over at the gas station,” “McCarthy’s newspaper store” and “Ben [Adamo]’s barber shop.”

“We were all neighbors, and we all stuck together. And if one needed help, we were there for each other,” she said.

In addition to The Floridian, Samp owned Fort Lauderdale eatery Ernie’s Bar-B-Q on Federal Highway, which he sold in 2017, moving its conch fritters, Bimini bread and other items to The Floridian menu. The family also owned Tina’s Spaghetti House and a bar and restaurant called Jake’s Place on Las Olas Boulevard in the 1990s, the Cypress Creek bar Cheers and Cafe Bluefish on Fort Lauderdale beach.

The Floridian was an unapologetically untrendy spot when Samp and his diner had their moment of Food Network stardom in 2005, as Rachael Ray brought her “$40 a Day” show to the Flo.

“He probably didn’t even know who she was,” Donnelly said, laughing.

Sue Kaplan, 84, returned to The Floridian on Tuesday, about 15 years after her retirement from 35 years as a waitress. She said Samp should be remembered for his humor, good nature and “for just being Butch.”

“I loved it here. The people were great. The customers were wonderful,” Kaplan said, recalling Sunday mornings where “we had big lines out the door.”

The diner is a family affair for Kaplan: Daughter Linda Silvetti has been a waitress at The Floridian for 39 years, and Silvetti’s daughter, Nikki Ryan, also works there.

Silvetti is a diner waitress right out of central casting, ruthlessly efficient and sassy when she needs to be. But she softens when talking about Samp.

“Butch was a really good friend, a good man, good boss. He had his moments, but he was a funny guy. He loved entertaining people. I’m gonna miss him a lot,” she said.

In a Facebook post, Nikki Ryan thanked Samp for his guidance.

“You were always so proud of me and would brag to your friends at the table about me getting my Master’s degree and still working 7 days a week,” she wrote. “Thank you for some good memories, laughs, tears and talks.”

The most public display of Samp’s humor came in 2020 when, as he was decluttering the restaurant, he came across an old “For Sale” sign. As a lark, he put it in the front window of The Floridian with a hand-lettered plea: “Will trade for a functioning kidney or dialysis machine.”

Friends and customers filled his voicemail with concern. But, in fact, Samp had “never felt better,” thanks to losing more than 100 pounds.

“It was so nice to have everybody calling and checking,” Samp told the South Florida Sun Sentinel at the time.

And he did get an offer from a man interested in making the trade, a kidney for The Floridian. When Samp told him the price had since risen to two kidneys, the man countered that would be fatal.

“I told him, ‘You have to understand, in any business deal, there’s always a bad part of it,’” Samp said, laughing.

Staff writer Susannah Bryan contributed to this report.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.