CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Cynthia King will treasure the memories she has of P.O.E.T.S. Restaurant owner Sam Shivers -- who died over the weekend -- from his terrible jokes to his generous and giving nature.
"You know, if you asked him for something, it was never a 'no,' " she said. "It was very rare that he would say, 'no.' He would rather be without than you be without."
Shivers was 63.
His cause of death currently is not being released by family and friends.
Sam Shivers managed the restaurant since 1992, King said, after his father opened it in 1982 and originally named it Friday's P.O.E.T.S. after his weekly poker group.
It is temporarily closed following his death, but aims to reopen soon under new ownership -- King herself.
Inspiring loyalty
While many restaurants struggle to find reliable help, King said turnover was never an issue at P.O.E.T.S. because of the kind of leader Sam was -- she worked for the Shivers family for 37 years, and said two of the restaurant's other managers have been there for more than 20 years.
"He was a very, very generous man," she said. "He always made sure that his employees got paid a little bit more than everybody else. It was never just minimum wage.
"If somebody came to him and said, 'Hey, I can't pay my rent today,' he would just give them the cash without even blinking an eye."
It was that unselfish nature that made older generations comfortable letting their kids work for Sam Shivers, too.
That's how Eddie Morales came to work at P.O.E.T.S. when he was 15. One of the cooks' sons also worked there, and helped him get a job at the restaurant as a busboy.
Even though it's been 24 years since then, he still remembers being treated well.
"Him and his dad were real good men," he said.
A family atmosphere
King said Shivers instilled a family atmosphere, with employees' children even working in the restaurant at one point or another. Her own daughter, who is also Sam Shiver's goddaughter, works at P.O.E.T.S. as a waitress.
He also was the consummate host, King said, making a point to learn customers' names.
"He knew their children, their grandchildren," she said. "There wasn't a child that came into that restaurant that wasn't fascinated with Sam. And a lot of them grew up and came to work for us."
Those kids would also go on to credit Sam and that job for their future success -- even the ones that didn't stay in the restaurant business.
"People started there when they were in their teens," she said. "We have doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, coaches, psychiatrists, that have come out of P.O.E.T.S., and every single one of them has said 'I wouldn't be here today if it hadn't been for Sam.' "
And King includes herself in that group.
"He actually molded the woman that I am today," she said. "I couldn't have been who I am today, if he had not supported me throughout my whole life."
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