Battistone and Bohnett capitalized on this connection by decorating the walls of the restaurants with scenes from the book, including a dark-skinned boy, tigers, and a pale, magical unicycle-riding man called "The Treefriend".

The George Floyd protests against racism in the United States resulted in the owner of the restaurant changing the name of the establishment.

[3] By 1969, the company had grown to 98 locations,[4] and over the next two years diversified to create additional restaurant franchises, including Red Top Hamburgers, Heidi's Pie Shop, and the Blue Ox Steak House.

[4][5] In the latter half of the 1970s, pressure began to mount on the chain to change its name, drawing protests and lawsuits in communities that viewed the term Sambo as pejorative towards Black Americans.

Twelve of its restaurants were opened as or renamed "The Jolly Tiger" in locations where the local community passed resolutions forbidding the use of the original name or refused to grant the chain permits.

[2] Neither the name change nor bankruptcy protection reversed this downward trend, and by 1982 all except the original Sambo's at 216 West Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara, California closed their doors.

Battistone's grandson, restaurateur Chad Stevens, owns the only remaining restaurant in Santa Barbara which continued business under the Sambo's name until 2020.