Cleveland BBQ business owner gets his grill back after being stolen

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Thieves made off with “Slammin’ Sammy” Spain’s grill in the dark of night a little more than two weeks ago, taking not only a source of pride for the neighborhood but a man’s livelihood.

RELATED: Thieves steal barbeque grill as well as a Cleveland man’s livelihood

“Pick it up!” Sammy yelled, his signature phrase, as he finished another slab of ribs while smoke billowed from the lot at East 83rd Street and Cedar Avenue this weekend.

Cleveland Police say they found the grill on East 143rd near Rexwood Avenue on Cleveland’s southeast side after video captured the thieves hitching the grill to a truck and pulling away.

The neighborhood had rallied around the BBQ business, with store owners contributing surveillance recordings and offering to help.

“The grill is a barbeque business,” Sammy said at the time. “With no grill, no business.”

But after singing the blues, his tune has become upbeat.

“I found my grill…on Rexwood Hill!” he sang as the smell of the ribs filled the neighborhood in the shadow of the Cleveland Clinic.

Police found the grill with only minor damage and now Sammy has a garage for storage and new locks to protect his prized possession.

“It’s the best birthday present,” Spain said on Friday afternoon before his 65th birthday party at the Wolf’s Den, next door to his outdoor barbeque business.

“Oh, what a thrill…to cook on my grill!” he continued to sing over the weekend.

“Pick it up!”

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