GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Fat Boy has been a staple in Grand Rapids for over 70 years, serving delicious burgers in that time. The owner is looking to hang up his apron. However, he's looking for someone special in mind to take over this restaurant.
Customers walking into Fat Boy in Grand Rapids often hear the sizzle of a burger hitting the grill.
"We have just about 14 different kinds of burgers on the menu," Owner Matt Urbane said.
Urbane has been behind this grill for 15 years.
"I never thought when I was 14, 15 years old looking across the street at this icon sitting here and that one day I would own it. And it was a dream come true," Urbane said. "All of sudden, I hear my mom. 'What in the world did you do?' She started crying. 'It's a dream, Mom. It's going to be OK.'"
His dream started in 2009. Now, at age 62 and working 16-hour days, he's ready to retire.
"Without the community here, we wouldn't have been able to last 15 years. These last 15 years, we couldn't have done without them," Urbane added.
Year in and year out, Urbane made a lot of great memories.
"We bring in special needs kids five days a week to do work here at the restaurant doing dishes. Mondays are their sanitize day, three of them come in and they clean and wipe down ... the dining area. Then, the rest of the week, they come in and do dishes for a couple of hours a day. So that's probably the nearest dear thing to my heart is having these kids come in and learn ... how to work out in the community," Ubrane explained.
He admits that running a business does come with challenges. Last summer, Plainfield Avenue dropped down to one lane, and the customer count dropped 70%.
"That pretty much stopped anybody from getting down Plainfield. COVID, at least we were able to maintain takeout," Urbane said.
He says there can be a bright future for his beloved restaurant with the right person taking the torch.
"I would say somebody a little bit younger than me, has a little bit more energy, that we can carry on the Fat Boy name and pass the torch off and take it to that next level that I wasn't able to achieve," he added.
Urbane says there is no actual timeline for when he plans to retire. He hopes someone will take a bite soon.
