SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The owner of Yellowknife's newest restaurant wants customers to know two things about Fat Burger - the burgers are not fat and the food is not fast.

Brad Anstey, right, owner of the new Fat Burger restaurant in Yellowknife, shows off a burger and milkshake Wednesday alongside Steve Smith, manager of operations for Fat Burger Canada. The restaurant opened in the Stanton Plaza on Aug. 4 and has had a steady flow of customers ever since. - John McFadden/NNSL photo

Brad Anstey, who opened Fat Burger in the Stanton Plaza on Aug. 4, said the response from the community has been unreal - he has been dealing with lineups right out the front door since opening day.

Anstey wanted to stress, above all else, that Fat Burger is not another fast food joint. He said it is quick food - but it will take a little longer than a typical fast-food chain outlet. Despite the long lineups and a more considerable wait-time for food, Anstey said he has been overwhelmed by the response from his customers.

"The support from the community has been fantastic. It has far exceeded my expectations . especially on short notice of opening up," he said.

Anstey, 42, is a married father of three and no stranger to the food business in Yellowknife. He has also owned the Subway restaurant in the same plaza since 2004. At one point he also owned it and the downtown Subway before selling the downtown business. The transplanted Newfoundlander, who has been in the city for the past two decades, also brought M and M Meat Shops to Yellowknife - a business that he has since left.

He said he decided to open Fat Burger after realizing there was a gap in Yellowknife's restaurant scene.

"I found it really difficult to take my family out to a good restaurant that has high-quality service, high-quality food and have a warm inviting environment where you can sit and relax and have a conversation - I felt that there was nowhere to go," Anstey said. "I know there are other good businesses out there but I felt our community was missing something. I know the town is hungry."

Anstey said a large number of customers have been taking their orders to go so far but he thinks that will gradually change once people realize how cool the ambiance is inside the restaurant. He pointed out that the décor is part 1950s diner with bright red vinyl seats and booths, combined with a modern touch including a high-tech kitchen and several wide-screen TVs showing sports.

One of the first unique things that stands out inside is that the staff behind the counter almost sing out orders. Part of the reason for doing that, Anstey said, is so the cooks know right away what they are making. They don't have to wait for the order to be rung in on a cash register and appear on a screen.

Steve Smith, operations director for Fat Burger Canada, is based in Vancouver but has been in Yellowknife for the past two weeks helping gets things off the ground. He said Fat Burger began in Los Angeles in the 1940s with a single tiny restaurant that is now an historical site. He added it is now a world-wide chain with 48 restaurants in Canada alone - mostly in western provinces. This Fat Burger is the furthest North anywhere in the world, he said.

Both Anstey and Smith agreed that in our health conscious society having the word fat in the name of a restaurant might scare some people off. But they pointed out it is just a name that been around for more than half a century and their burgers are just as lean if not leaner than anywhere else in the city.

Anstey said he has hired almost 20 full and part-time employees, several of whom travelled to a Fat Burger outlet in Edmonton earlier this year for training. He said that as an experienced Yellowknife restaurateur he is well aware that one of his biggest challenges has been to find competent staff who are willing to stay on for some time.

Anstey said he hired four workers whom he had coached in minor hockey in town. He said his community involvement and his volunteerism is the best advertising he could have. People in town know him and his family and that, he said, is where the word of mouth about the restaurant will develop.

Fat Burger also includes a Buffalo Express chicken wing franchise because as Anstey put it, "You can't eat beef all day, every day."

The restaurant also serves breakfast until 4 p.m.

Anstey said he never could have gotten the business off the ground without the help of his friends, family and local tradespeople who helped convert a former pet food outlet into an eatery.

The restaurant, which seats 68 people, is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Anstey added he is in the process of acquiring a liquor licence with an emphasis on cold beer and fancy cocktails. He said once he gets the licence he will consider staying open until as late as 11 p.m.

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