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A dedication to small and mid-sized markets combined with a mainstream menu pepped up by a few curveballs has made Fatz Cafe a Southeast success story.
Practically every business has a story to tell about its humble beginnings, but perhaps few have origins more modest than Fatz Cafe.
In the late 1980s, Fatz Cafe founder James Rogers decided to move beyond his career as an owner and operator of nightclubs and open a casual-dining restaurant. He was unable, however, to secure enough financing to lease a newly built facility. Undeterred, Rogers took what money and space he could get and opened the first Fatz Cafe in a former peach shed in Spartanburg, S.C., in November 1988. The company grew slowly over its first iour years, having less than five stores in operation.
Since that time, of course, Fatz has undergone some big changes. Perhaps most notably in 1993, when Bill Burton bought a 50% share in the company as a partner.
"It was a good partnership for a few years," says Burton, a veteran of the restaurant industry for more than 25 years. "Then, as partnerships often go, he had a vision and I had a vision, so we decided to go our separate ways."
In this case, going their separate ways meant that Burton acquired Rogers' remaining interest in the company in 1999, which he has led as owner, president and CEO since, guiding it through a decade of steady, solid growth.
Fatz now has 27 units based primarily in the southeast United States, with another three currently under construction. The company reported sales of approximately $55 million in 2004, placing it at No. 316 on Restaurants dr Institutions Top 400 ranking of chain restaurants, a full 53 spots higher than where it stood on the previous years' list.
The average Fatz unit employs about 70 people and posted revenue of about $2.4 million last year. Open for lunch and dinner, Fatz boasts an average check of about $11.50 per person.
A big part of Fatz Cafe's success over the years is attributable to the markets the company attempts to serve. Unlike most other chain restaurants, Fatz does not seek to place units in large metropolitan areas....