“The Polo Inn is not a regular place.
“The restaurant, banquet hall and bed and breakfast will celebrate its 40th anniversary Aug. 7, 2025. Samber has brought goodwill to the neighborhood since the day he opened the doors as a candy and nut shop.
“In September 1984, Samber received a call about an abandoned brownstone on South Morgan Street in Bridgeport. It was built in 1914 as Kupsha’s Confectionary, a candy store and ice cream parlor. He was told to act fast.
“When Samber opened Polo Nuts and Candy in 1985, his hours were 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. A year later, he moved into an upstairs apartment. In the early 1990s, when Dominick’s opened a grocery store in Bridgeport, Samber knew he had to expand from nuts and candies. He changed the name to Polo Cafe and Catering in 1990 and launched the restaurant.
Samber expanded the business again in 1997 with the Old Eagle Banquet Room, converting the old Eagle theater next door to the Polo. The 300-seat theater opened in 1914 and ran until at least 1952, Samber said.
“It was an auto body repair shop for 30 years,” he said. “It was an EPA nightmare. But as a real estate developer, it was a good challenge.”
“In September 2008, Samber opened the bed and breakfast above the restaurant, and in 2017, he rebranded the entire business as the Polo Inn.
“Gospel brunch is served 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays in the restaurant and the banquet room, with music delivered on a Rodgers 360 theater organ in the banquet hall. The hall holds 100 people, and the restaurant seats 50.
“‘The bottom line is not my goal,’ he said. ‘This is a labor of love. This is my life. This is where I share who I am and what I have to offer to the world, anybody who walks through that door. … This is my ministry of hospitality.’
“When Germain and her fellow parishioners were working to save the historical St. James Church from closing, Samber offered the Polo as a meeting place. Every Tuesday we met to strategize on how we could keep that church open,’ Germain said. ‘He was a leader in standing up against the Archdiocese of Chicago.’ (St. James Church was a Preservation Chicago 2013 Chicago 7 Most Endangered.)
“The church, built in 1879, was razed in 2013, but the school auditorium was saved, which is where services are held today. The Polo caters events for the diverse congregation, and many of the parishioners are Polo customers.” (Hoekstra, Block Club Chicago, 7/21/25)