Fat Boy Burgers

Thank you Grand Rapids!

Thank you, Grand Rapids!  We could not be any prouder to share that you, our loyal customers, have voted Fat Boy Burger honorable mention for the Best Burger in town with On the Town Magazine!  Wow!  We are just blown away that in just four months with our doors open, you bestowed such an award upon us. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Grand Rapids!  We are humbled and honored.  We will continue to do our best to provide you with the freshest, best tasting burgers, dogs and breakfasts that we can.  Thank you again.

And to read more about the best of Grand Rapids dining, shopping and entertainment, check out the July issue of On-The-Town.

Looking good...

I know it has been awhile since the last post, but I just wanted to share some updates:

We have finally gotten the outside of Fat Boy painted!  While we are not entirely done with the outside work, we are hoping that the new paint on the exterior is more reflective of the changes we did to the interior of the building, e.g., bright, colorful and fun.  Stop on by and check it out!

We have made some changes to Saturdays:

• We are now only open until 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
• We will be serving breakfast all day on Saturdays ONLY.  That's right, now you can get some of those great Fat Boy breakfast favorites including Fat Boy Hash and the Slim Boy all day long.  Of course, the classic Fat Boy cup of coffee is available all day every day the rest of the week!

We've added some things to the menu.  We now offer chicken strips and have been offering some daily specials including home made chilli, meatloaf, and a breakfast wrap.  In addition, omelets are back on the menu.

That's it for the changes at this point.  We continue to strive to make Fat Boy Burgers a fun, clean and tasty alternative to the chain restaurant experience for our customers.  Thanks so much to all of you for your support!

Fat Boy now has a classic car cruise in!

As lovers of classic cars, we often go to car shows and cruise ins with the kids.  We love looking at the various cars and talking with the owners and other car officianados.

Well, now that we have a place of our own and because of it long history, we thought we'd start our own cruise in!  So now on Wednesday nights from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Fat Boy hosts a cruise in car show.  Individuals who drive in their classic car or hot rod will get a free coke (limit one per car).  We are looking forward to getting some great photos of classic cars our front our this classic establishment.  Hope to see you there!

We've got new hours!

Hey all!  Many of you have asked about when Fat Boy will be open for evening hours.  You ask and we answer!  That's right, Fat Boy now has evening hours.  Our new hours are as follows:

Monday through Friday:  6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday:   7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday:  Closed

Now you can stop in evening and enjoy a classic, Fat Boy burger and fries.  It's a great alternative to cooking!  Hope to see you soon :)

More exciting stuff...

The kids are on spring break this week, so we have been spending more time up at the restaurant.  It was great timing yesterday as Jim, from Grand Rapids Magazine, stopped in to take some photos for an upcoming article on area diners. 

Thanks to all the customers who volunteered to have their pictures taken!  Having grown up with a photographer as a parent, I'm a bit camera shy (too many surprise photos showing up around the house!).  Thanks for stopping in, Jim, and we are looking forward to reading the article when it comes out!

Spring is a coming...

Spring is a comin' and that means we will finally have the opportunity to start jazzin' up the outside of the building.  No longer will there be sterile white walls!  Who knows, maybe we'll even add a little bit of color...

We've had LOTS of requests to extend our hours.  Believe me folks, we have had plans to do this from the get go.  In order to do so, however, we need to continue to work on training and hiring more staff.  When we do finally extend the hours, we need to know that in our absence (because we can't and don't want to be there all the time!) our staff will follow through with the same high standards we have for quality food, a clean environment and quality service.  We'll keep working on it and keep you posted!

We have gotten lots of fantastic feedback from folks in the last couple of weeks -- many of whom were Fat Boy regulars back in the day.  Thank you so much to all of our regulars, old and new!  You folks are the ones who keep up afloat!  Your loyalty, patronage and friendship is greatly appreciated :)

We've hit the one month mark...

Well, we have officially been open for a month now!  Things are moving along, but there are still lots of things to be done.  Some of you may have noticed a few more menu changes, e.g., no more omelettes and we have eliminated a few sandwiches like the California reuben.  I know, I know, there are some out there that may be wondering "why."  Developing a solid menu is a process that takes time.  We have to look at what sells and what doesn't, what is cost efficient, etc.  It is still a work in progress, so be patient!

We are still working on getting our staff up to speed.  We've got lots of new folks on board and it will take a bit to get them properly trained.  Be patient with them as well -- they are working hard!   Things have also slowed down a bit which means much shorter waits.  Having said this, please note that we do still have spurts where it gets busy.  Again, we have instructed the staff to let you know when you place your order how long your wait will be.

As the weather gets warmer, we are looking forward to updating the outside of the building.  A little color can do wonders!

Have you been in to Fat Boy recently?  If so, we'd really love to hear about your experience -- good and bad.  We can't improve things if we don't know that there is a problem.  Thanks so much!

Fat Boy was featured on Fox-17!

Check this out! 

Week two is in the books...

Well, we are winding down our second week with the doors open.  What a roller coaster ride it has been!  Again, I must say thanks to all the loyal Fat Boy customers while we continue to work the glitches out.  We are doing are best and have appreciated all your patience and kind words.  You guys are the best.

Many have asked about extending our hours.  Believe me, we plan to extend the hours down the road.  We have a lot of bridges to cross before we get there, i.e., ensuring we have enough staff, trained staff, etc.  Speaking of which, we are accepting applications for cooks and cashiers.  Experience is preferred!  Applicants need to be able to handle the fast pace of breakfast and lunch crowds.  In other words, we are looking for folks who won't crack under pressure!  If interested in applying, come in during the week very early in the day (before 8:30 a.m.) or late in the day (after 2:30).  Those are the times when Matt is most likely to have time to speak to you or set up an interview.  You can also feel free to pick up an application and drop it off later -- we'll call to set up an interview.

Just a few things to note in the coming weeks:

• We will be closing at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays through lent.  Matt had a prior commitment on these dates prior to our purchase of Fat Boy.  If you really miss him, you can come visit him up at St. Jude's fish fry on Friday evenings.  He'll be there from 5:00 to 6:30 cooking up fish and chips!
• Watch Fox 17 for another Fat Boy interview!  They were in earlier this week to do a follow up story with Matt and a couple of the customers about the re-opening.  It is likely to air on Wednesday, March 4th.  Check it out!

Thanks again to all who have stopped in to visit.  If you have a Fat Boy story to share or have old photos of the place, we are interested!  You can bring photos in or send your story to me via e-mail.  We really want to share the Fat Boy legacy and history with all.  Thanks again and keep checking back for news and events on Fat Boy Burger!

Wow -- what a day!!!!

Oh my gosh, what a day!  The picture to the left reflects how I felt the brief time that I was at Fat Boy.  I can only imagine what the cooks were feeling!!!!  We were absolutely blown away by the number of folks who came out today.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

There is so much to say.  First, thank you again to all who came out today.  Thank you for your EXTREME patience while the kitchen crew chugged out the orders.  Believe me folks, they were working as hard as they could to get things out in a timely fashion.  That can be a challenge when your orders are consistently thirty deep!  Keep in mind that each request is cooked to order and that does take time.  Again, thanks for the patience. We will do our best to get those orders out as quickly as possible.  We have asked our waitstaff as well to be sure to give an indication of approximately how many orders are ahead to customers for those who may be facing time constraints. 

The day was not without it's mistakes.  For any of those who were inconvenienced with an inaccurate order, we apologize and will do our best to get it right next time.  Believe me, we review the good, the bad and the ugly at the end of each day in our constant effort to find ways to make things better.  Our goal is quality experience for our customers all the way around.

Finally, I must give a shout out to all of those behind the scenes.  Rebecca, you came in on your very first day and were grace under fire -- well done.  Dave, we are glad to have you on board as the "go to guy!"  Levi, great job of staying on top of EVERYTHING!  And then there is Rick.  Words are not enough to express our gratitude for ALL that you have done behind the scenes -- you are a Godsend and a great friend (and we like your wife too!). 

That's it for tonight folks.  Better get some rest -- something tells me tomorrow is gonna be even busier!!