Fatz Cafe getting ready to roll
More than a hundred already hired

Photos by Frank Bradley Reed Timmerman, who is helping with the opening of the new Fatz Cafe, holds a picture board with more than a hundred employees already hired by the restaurant. Fatz is scheduled to open on November 5th.

While many businesses are shutting down, cutting back or simply hanging on as the economy has gone into a tailspin with the dampening of the real estate market, some businesses see a bright future for their industry and maybe a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Chalk one up for Fatz Cafe, a new restaurant set to open in downtown Blairsville on November 5th.

Fatz, an upscale restaurant that originated in South Carolina a couple decades ago, has spread across that state and is beginning to sprout up in other states: North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Earlier this month, a new Fatz opened in Jasper.

If you've ever eaten at Fatz, you know it is a friendly place with good food, a relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices. It also manages to stay open later than most sit down restaurants. Until 10 p.m. on most weekdays and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. That's something convenient for the after football and basketball game high school crowd.

Photos by Frank Bradley Jim Marchman, operating partner of the new Fatz Cafe says he is excited about opening the restraunt next month.

A lunch and dinner place that opens at 11 a.m. daily, Fatz Cafe has a large menu that runs the gambit from hamburgers and sandwiches to chicken, beef and seafood dinners. They also serve grilled steaks and ribs and plump, moist, juicy fried chicken that would make the good Colonel envious. The Blairsville Fatz will have a fast bar, where you can run in and catch a fast lunch at the express counter and get back to the office before the boss even knows you are gone.

Jim Marchman is the operating partner at the Blairsville Fatz. A long time Georgia resident, Jim has been spending much of his time in Union County for the past 14 years. He says he loves the mountains and the friendly Blairsville people. He says that service and hospitality are tops on the restaurant's agenda. "We'll be a hometown restaurant where regulars get treated special," he said.

Photos by Frank Bradley Left: Reed Timmerman says there will be plenty of parking for the convenience of customers.

Reed Timmerman, a support team member who is helping get the cafe up and running, told me they have already hired 102 employees and will be looking to hire 20 to 40 more. The jobs include servers, hosts, kitchen staff and the management team. He said the personnel will undergo an extensive training program with certified trainers for a week before the cafe opens. Then the trainers will be on hand during opening week to observe and make any adjustments as necessary.

Fatz Cafe has gone up in a hurry. It has only taken two to three months in the building of it. Across the highway from United Community Bank, it has ample parking and has a seating capacity of 168. As we reported last week, they are putting the finishing touching on the place and completing their initial hiring.

Fatz Cafe is an exciting new addition to Blairsville. A new place to eat, and a new, large employer.