| Joseph Sammut Sr. (b. 1893 - d. 1967), an immigrant from Malta, opened a pool parlor and card room at 2606 San Bruno Avenue in San Francisco in 1915. In 1921, he moved the pool hall to 676 San Mateo Avenue in San Bruno, and changed its name to "Joe's Pool Parlor". He later opened the “San Bruno Cocktail Lounge” across the street at 695 San Bruno Ave.
The pool parlor had a two-table card room and a telephone exchange, which handled extensive off-track betting. In the 1940s, the operation reportedly had a monopoly on illegal bookmaking in San Bruno. In 1942, Joe Sammut Sr. turned the operation over to his son, also named Joe, and retired in Malta. Joe Sammut Jr. was briefly arrested on bookmaking charges after the pool hall was raided in 1949.
Sometimes called “Joe's Pool Hall”. In the 1950s, it was also called “Club Artichoke” and “Joe's Place”. It became “Artichoke Joe's” in 1964 (see "Became").
Photograph of the pool parlor circa 1921 (Courtesy of the San Mateo County Historical Association). |
