Fat Patty’s is flipping more than handheld morsels of happiness. The popular burger brand is flipping the script on the casual dining experience while raising the bar on food quality. By Lizzy Yeserski
Fat Patty’s is flipping more than handheld morsels of happiness. The popular burger brand is flipping the script on the casual dining experience while raising the bar on food quality.
“Fat Patty’s is the place where you’re going to go with your friends and family, you’re going to hang out and you’re not going to want to leave,” said Chief Development Officer Sean Oatney, highlighting the restaurant’s fun factor. “On top of that atmosphere, we’ve been very thoughtful in how we approach the guest interaction.”
Launching its first West Virginia location in the early 2000s, Fat Patty’s was practically an overnight sensation with nearby Marshall University students who were hungry for scrumptious bites and feel-good vibes. Quickly, locations started popping up throughout Kentucky and West Virginia.
“We have a thing called ‘The Backyard,’ a place to come and have fun,” said Oatney. “We have soft dart boards, we’ve got sand shuffleboard, we’ve got the Golden Tee golf game, about 45 TVs per location and we’ve got an area with high-top tables so that people who come for dinner can stay later.”
Speaking of dinner, Fat Patty’s brings serious heat to the burger game. With 18 gourmet, chef-inspired, always-fresh and never-frozen burger creations on its full-time menu – plus specialty burger drops – diners’ tastebuds will never get bored.
“The food is absolutely amazing,” said Oatney. “Every time you come in, you can try a new burger. On top of that, every single month, we have a special monthly featured burger.”
The monthly Fat’s Feature sits proudly on the restaurant’s homepage, displaying specialties like May’s ‘Patty Capone,’ an enticing pizza-like blend of pepperoni, cheese curds and marinara atop a half-pound slab of juiciness. The always-changing feature encourages customer loyalty and helps create an official burger buzz.
“What it does for our franchise partners is drive success. It drives in somebody who wants to try the new burger,” explained Oatney.
Fat Patty’s collaborative corporate team, with a combined 100 years of franchising and operations experience, is eager to drive success home for partners and grow mutually beneficial relationships.
“We’re keeping people along the path to profitability,” Oatney said. “There’s a path to ownership up front, and we handle that handholding through the whole process, but once they’re a franchise partner and part of our franchise family, we shift gears to make sure they’re profitable and making the right decisions.”
As Fat Patty’s is in its golden pioneering phase, Oatney is excited for prospective entrepreneurs to get in on a timely opportunity and cherry-pick their locations. Currently, Fat Patty’s is thriving across Kentucky and West Virginia, with a New Jersey joint slated to open later this year.
“We feel that nobody is doing what we’re doing right now in the burger space, in a casual dining environment that is bringing that fun element with a great menu and superb taste to the market,” said Oatney. “We’re looking for pioneers that can come in and help build and grow the brand.”
Lizzy Yeserski