Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Eidus.
Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in New Jersey, then came to Atlanta after college. This September will mark 20 years since I arrived, so I’m fully an Atlantan now. Over that time, I’ve done a little bit of everything in food service; from restaurants to catering to owning a food truck which was the precursor to the current restaurant. Around 2014 as I plotted my next career move, I had an all too vivid dream about owning a food truck. Taking the follow your dreams adage a little too literally, just a few months later I found myself in Miami purchasing a retrofitted passenger bus with a wood-fired oven inside. I learned to make traditional Neapolitan Pizza from the original owners and brought the truck back to Atlanta to officially start my adventures in entrepreneurship. The next few years were a bit stop-start due to prep kitchen constraints and the permitting system for food trucks being conceived by sadists. After moving across town to Westview in 2017, I found a tiny retail space close to my house. It was extremely small with no electrical, no plumbing, no mechanical systems, walls with no right angles, and about half a roof. But the rent was cheap! So not knowing what I didn’t know, I went ahead and signed a lease and got to work. Whatever aspects of the buildout we could do ourselves we did, and to this day our work is holding up a lot better than that of the contractors.
In the middle of the 20 months buildout that wouldn’t end, My wife and I got married and soon after were off to Israel for our honeymoon. I had already become enthralled by modern Israeli cuisine from some dining experiences here in the States, notably at Zahav in Philly and Shaya in New Orleans. But after two weeks of eating my way through Israel, I knew that my menu for Firewall was about to level up. About six months later, Firewall Food Stop finally opened. After being take-out only for a while, we added a dining room to the initial space which, after a two years covid delay we were actually able to open this past summer. May 31st will mark our four years anniversary as a restaurant. It has been anything but straightforward but it has been an extremely fulfilling journey which I hope to continue for many years to come.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to where I am today has been about as smooth as Dekalb Ave. Some bumps were merely that, while others, which threatened to derail the entire Firewall project, were much more traumatic. I don’t use that word lightly. Any entrepreneurial venture is difficult, but this one posed obstacles which really challenged me emotionally. One of the main reasons I opened my own place was to have control over my life. And yet at certain times, particularly during the restaurant buildout, it felt like anyone but me was actually in charge. Thankfully I’ve had an incredible support system of family, friends, industry mentors, and great coworkers; all of whom helped me cope and thankfully over time, to grow a great deal personally. It’s hard to think back on some of those moments in time, but having been made mentally stronger by them, I’m fully ready to face what challenges lay ahead.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Here at Firewall, the menu kind of tells my story. At its core it’s a representation of where I’ve traveled, where I’ve lived, the people I’ve worked with and when all else fails, things I just really like to eat. The Sloppy Jeaux, for example, is inspired by a former boss of mine from Louisiana, while the Southern Italian is my take on my absolute favorite sandwich from Paesano’s in Philly. The thing that really ties it all together though is Burny, our bespoke wood-fired oven. We, of course, make our pizzas in there. But we also stretch, season, and bake every pita bread and sandwich roll to order in that same raging dome. It takes sandwiches which would already be delicious and levels them all the way up. The real star of the menu and the thing closest to my heart is the hummus. Our technique on this is not innovative, and it’s just correct. We’re doing the hummus itself to the exact specifications you’d find in Israel which is something special and certainly unique for Atlanta. Add that to the fact that It’s coming at you right from the processor into your bowl, with pita straight out of the oven, some delicious pickled veggies, and a whole bevy of topping options. If there was a hummus battle royale in Georgia, we’d enter confidently.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Surround yourself with good people. At all costs.
Contact Info:
- Website: firewallatl.com
- Instagram: @firewallatlanta
