Fat Guy's Burger Bar to open south Tulsa restaurant
BY KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
7/18/12 at 3:53 AM
One of downtown's favorite restaurants is opening a second location in southeast Tulsa.
Owners of Fat Guy's Burger Bar plan to serve their tasty food at 7945 S. Memorial Drive beginning in September.
"We've always wanted to expand on what we've been doing downtown, and we just thought it would be the perfect time and the perfect place," said manager R.C. Cline, who will also manage the new location.
Fat Guys opened in the Greenwood neighborhood in 2010, across from ONEOK Field. Since then it has become a favorite, known for its flavorful, juicy burgers. The place is usually packed during the weekday lunch hour and on Tulsa Drillers game nights.
That's partially thanks to co-owner and chef Chris Dodge, who jumped into the burger business after learning the culinary art at local restaurants such as En Fuego, Fusion, Grapevine and Oliver's Twist.
Fat Guys has a simple menu of modestly priced burgers ranging from $5.35 for a double meat hamburger to $10.95 for a ground beef filet burger with bacon.
The restaurant's owners pride themselves on their fresh-ground, never-frozen beef and buns produced at a local bakery the same day.
The burgers are big, and the restaurant even offers a Fat Guy's Burger Bar Challenge that includes a burger with bacon, cheese and two hot dogs and a pound of french fries. Anyone who finishes in less than an hour doesn't have to pay the $34.95 bill. So far, three people have finished and 42 have walked away losers, but with full stomachs.
The peanut oil-cooked fries also come with 16 varieties of dipping sauce such as chili ranch, wasabi ketchup, roasted garlic aioli and honey mustard.
Fat Guys also serves beer and wine, something it plans to carry over to the new location.
In fact, Cline said little will be different at the new 2,600-square-foot restaurant.
"It'll be the same menu and the same pricing," he said. "We just want to bring it down to south Tulsa."
There is room for a small patio at the new location, which will hold about 20 to 30 people. Owners are spending about $30,000 to retrofit the building, according to city building permit records.
The space was formerly the home of Moe's Southwest Grill and Tijuana's Grill & Cantina, which have both closed.
Cline said the restaurant's downtown success shows it can survive in competitive restaurant areas.
"We have a lot of downtown customers that live out south," he said. "We think the business will carry over when we're closer to their homes."
The restaurant will open around 11 a.m. and continue serving until the late dinner hours, Cline said.
"Eventually, we want to have locations all over, and we thought out south was a good place to start for us," he said.
Fat Guy's Burger Bar
New Location: 7945 S. Memorial Drive
Opening: September
Original location: 140 N. Greenwood Ave.
Opened: 2010
Original Print Headline: Fat Guy's expanding
Kyle Arnold 918-581-8380
kyle.arnold@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Elyse Burrows (right) takes a customer's order Tuesday at Fat Guy's Burger Bar, a successful burger restaurant at 140 N. Greenwood Ave.. The owners will be opening a new location at 7945 S. Memorial Drive in September. KT KING / Tulsa World
A peanut butter bacon burger made Thai style with spicy fries is a popular item at Fat Guy's Burger Bar. KT KING / Tulsa World
Fat Guy's Burger Bar, 140 N. Greenwood Ave., will open a new location in southeast Tulsa in September. Manager R.C. Cline says little will change at the new 2,600-square-foot restaurant. KT KING / Tulsa World
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