Since Fatz Café opened in Athens 7 years ago, the restaurant has become a one stop shop for tailgate favorites on football game days.

The restaurant, located Highway 78, is famous for its Calabash chicken, but continues to entice guests by featuring limited time menus offering seasonal specialties. “We want to stay fresh in the eyes of our guests,” said Tom Clark, an area partner who oversees 10 of the company’s restaurants in Georgia and South Carolina. “We want to introduce products our guests connect with.”

The company also re-boots its menu once a year to focus on more popular items. Its most requested dish, the Calabash chicken tenders, are first marinated in 18 spices, then marinated a second time in buttermilk before being hand-breaded and crispy fried, Clark said.

Athens General Manager Chelsea Law said Fatz has built lasting relationships here by giving back to the community. The restaurant frequently opens from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to hosts pancake breakfasts that benefit local clubs, churches, and community organizations.

“Our ability to attract new guests has to do with our connection with the community more than anything else,” said Law, who often introduces herself to new businesses with a tray of chicken tenders and buttery poppy-seed rolls.

In four years the company has raised $2 million for local charities. “We make a lot of friends along the way,” said Clark, of Cafe Enterprises, Inc. which was formed in 1988 to serve as parent company to FATZ Cafe and other restaurant concepts. Clark said in the past years, the company has greatly expanded its catering business, cooking for company events and Christmas parties from 200 to 500 people. Fatz can even accommodate a catering customer’s special request items not on the regular menu, he added.

The first FATZ Cafe started in November of 1988 from humble beginnings, operating out of a converted peach shed in Spartanburg, S.C. The company’s goal was to continue to build upon the success of FATZ Cafe by focusing on the attributes that have contributed to the restaurant's popularity.

FATZ Cafe provides varied and reasonably-priced menu items and generous portions of quality food while providing upbeat service. Its comfortable, homey-but-upscale atmosphere has made it a favorite destination for families, individuals, and the business lunch crowd. The Athens location employs about 60 people, and Clark said the company prides itself on selecting servers with “genuine enthusiasm” to serve the specific needs and desires of customers.

Cafe Enterprises, Inc. owns and operates 45 FATZ Cafe restaurants across Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas, and the company is poised for continued growth in the Southeast and beyond. Cafe Enterprises, Inc. added another restaurant concept--Tavern 24--to its portfolio in the summer of 2012 in Gastonia, NC. Tavern 24 brings high quality, fresh made pub fare--such as burgers, chicken wings, and chicken tenders--in a more casual, comfortable atmosphere.

Clark said in addition to its quality food and giving attitude, the company strives to strengthen its ties to the community through its “operating partner program,” a 15-year buy-in by general managers who make a financial commitment and a 5-year employment promise to the company. Law, who has been general manager of the Athens restaurant for 4 months, is working towards becoming an operating partner. She has been with the organization for the past 3 years.

“This eliminates continual turnover in leadership: Our guests get used to seeing the same person in a position of leadership in the restaurant, and our managers, in turn, get to know our guests on a first-name basis. They are like a mayor committed to the success of the restaurant. That’s how we keep our loyal guest base,” Clark said.

The Athens location seats 212 and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Sunday.