Frank Fat’s started as an immigrant’s dream come true. Can it survive pandemic?
The place is unusually quiet on L and 8th streets in Sacramento, the doors closed for business Mondays and Tuesdays; It used to be open daily.
”I’m not used to this,” said Maggie Evans, 64, a longtime customer to Frank Fat’s as she tugged on an entrance door that would not give on a recent Monday afternoon. “This is heaven and home for a lot of us here.”
Frank Fat’s has been a culinary staple in downtown Sacramento since after the dust settled from the Great Depression, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. It has for the majority of its time since opening in 1939 been bustling of good food, good cheer and good memories.
Frank Fat’s as a company and family rejoiced in its 80th birthday a year ago. Life was good because business was grand, with flashbacks of Capitol visitors, state employees and governors from Ronald Reagan to Jerry Brown stopping by. Then the coronavirus pandemic turned things upside down, shuttering businesses across the country.
It hit restaurants especially hard. Frank Fat’s, too, leading Chief Executive Officer Kevin Fat — grandson of the founder, Frank Fat — to face the grim reality of trimming staff, trimming hours and reducing operation days. And to brace for the worst.
Fat knows too many restaurants have shut down, unable to navigate or survive the COVID-19 shutdowns. Restaurant owners follow the plight of those in their industry. But Kevin Fat won’t close without a fight. He won’t sell. This is a family fixture, the oldest mom-and-pop restaurant in town since Espanol closed in August.
”Our goal is to remain whole,” Fat said, “but it’s not easy. Nothing about this industry is easy, and it’s been really hard lately. We’re feeling it. Anyone in this business is feeling it.”
Frank Fat’s can allow up to 25 percent of seating capacity, per county health guidelines, which is a challenge for all. But that model is not long-term sustainable. With no concerts or sporting events at nearby Golden 1 Center, foot traffic has thinned to a crawl. Kings players are known to stop by for dine in or takeout after workouts but there have been none at Golden 1.
“Frank Fat’s wasn’t built on takeout and delivery,” Fat said. “We’re built on relationships, in-person dining, for everyone. Our history includes politicians working on deals over meals or drinks, and of families stopping by —anyone — to enjoy something special.”
He added, “We’re used to seeing them, all of those people, frequently during the week and to not see them is sad. We’ve been around so long, have the family name. We’ve had discussions about what we can do? Can we stay open? How much farther can we go? We’re keeping tabs on everything. It’s on our mind: How long can we withstand this?”
‘Do I fear losing this? Absolutely’
A moment later in a long conversation with The Bee, Fat added, “Do I fear losing this? Absolutely. I don’t want to lose this under my watch. This is our family. This is who we are. This restaurant is an institution in this town, and we’re proud of that. We could easily say, ‘Hey, we’ve done our 80 years here and we don’t need this anymore.
“But this is our lifestyle, something my grandfather did, my uncles, my mom. What we like doing most is being hosts, sharing our culture and our food with locals.”
Fat had to reduce his staffing at the L Street location by half, down to 20 employees, since the pandemic forced government officials to mandate the closure of indoor dining. The other locations, Fat’s Bistro in Folsom, which opened in 2004, and Fat’s Bistro in Roseville, opened in 2000, also trimmed staff.
Those locations can offer patio dining, unlike the original spot on L Street.
“But weather, as it gets colder, will make that more of a challenge at those other places,” Fat said.
Reputation counts
In this business, you are as good as your reputation. Frank Fat’s has a stellar one. In 2013, Frank Fat’s received the James Beard Foundation America’s Classic Award, presented to locally owned restaurants that are pillars in their regions.
“You have ups and downs in this industry, but this has been a hard one,” said Frank Fat’s General Manager, Ken Young, in his 11th year with the business. “We thank our guests that support us. They don’t complain. They know our situation. But the good thing is we are remaining positive that this will turnaround soon.”
“I’ll order from Frank Fat’s because of the people and service and to help,” said Jim Boras, a longtime regional fixture in real estate, title and development. “You just don’t want to see those places stop.”
Stephanie Nguyen, executive director of the nonprofit Asian Resources in Sacramento, has dined at Frank Fat’s for 20 years. She has negotiated deals, closed them, or just talked shop with friends or people from the community during special events. Nguyen said Frank Fat’s has long been “very generous” in community donations and that the family name towers in terms of reputation.
”Each time I walk in, I can feel the presence of all the great history that took place there,” Nguyen said. “The Fat family knows how to make everyone feel important.”
That’s the foundation of the business, Kevin Fat said. He said his family is deeply moved by the support.
“Hearing from so many people who have stopped by over the years, it lifts our spirits,” Fat said.
Family legacy started with immigrant dreams
Fat lost his mother, Lina, a year ago. She died at 81. She was hands-on at Frank Fats for decades. Fat said he taps into her spiritually for strength and guidance.
”She would have handled this pandemic like a champ, run it full bore, been smart about it, and she’d go so with the same energy and same gumption she always had,” Fat said. “I sometimes reach out to her. It helps.”
Frank Fat’s is an American success story, one of an immigrant seeking opportunity.
Kevin Fat’s grandfather, Dong Sai-Fat, more than 100 years ago used falsified immigration papers to wiggle around the Chinese Exclusion Act, allowing him to sail from southern China to San Francisco. He arrived in 1919, the last time the world endured a pandemic, the Spanish Flu, in search of his father, who had immigrated to California seeking gold.
The elder Fat did not find gold and returned home. Sai-Fat changed his name to Frank. He worked his way to Sacramento, where he waited tables and washed dishes at the Senator Hotel near the Capitol. Frank Fat secured a business loan and opened Frank Fat’s on Aug. 14, 1939.
In the 1940s and ‘50s, a regular customer was Earl Warren, the eventual Supreme Court Chief Justice. Governors such as Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown (over four terms) and other government officials made Frank Fat’s a regular stop.
“Great stories,” Kevin Fat said.
Will Frank Fat’s continue in fourth-generation?
Fat recalled clearing tables and scrubbing dishes at Frank Fat’s during his teenage and college years. He got into the Frank Fat’s fold full time in 2003, when he and wife Sarina moved to Sacramento after residing in the Bay Area.
“I did it out of obligation, to help out, because it’s family,” Fat said. “I remember working here as a kid. My favorite dishes on when on the menu were veal cutlet and shoestring potatoes, or the club sandwich. I can still taste it. I did so many dishes there that I still have webbed fingers.”
Fat said his industry is a life experience, every day.
”You learn a lot doing this,” he said. “It’s not an office job, a 9-5 thing. You’re always on your feet, always on the go, and we remind our staff that this industry is what you need in life. You learn about sales, customer service, thinking on your feet, how things move, how to deal with people, how to deal with stress.”
When Fat drives to his three locations during the week, he wonders about the future. He and Sarina are raising three kids, ages 9, 13 and 16. The eldest has worked at the Fat’s restaurants.
Will those kids become fourth-generation Frank Fat’s owners?
“I tell them about it, what I do, what happens in this industry, what’s important, how we use our history, how we stayed open 81 years, so they can understand it and not take it for granted,” Fat said. “What their great grandfather did to get this started and all the others in the family and what they did. And what’s important is the simple thing that my grandfather said: Good food and good service means people will come back. It’s still the way to go, still the top.”
Tell us more
Know of a mom-and-pop operation navigating through these challenging times? A restaurant, a hardware store, a book store, a bar? Email your idea to jpatrick@sacbee.com and jdavidson@sacbee.com.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 7:59 AM.