Fatburger: History, Key Facts and Reviews

1947-1952: Lovie Yancey’s burger stand in Los Angeles

Fatburger started in 1947 as a small burger stand run by Lovie Yancey near Exposition Park in Los Angeles (Wikipedia). Born in Bastrop, Texas, in 1912, she first named it Mr. Fatburger, after her boyfriend. In 1952 she dropped the “Mr.”, which is why the brand still dates itself to that year. She wanted the name to suggest “a big burger with everything on it” (Wikipedia). Yancey worked shifts of up to 16 hours on Western Avenue, served regulars such as Redd Foxx and Ray Charles, and kept sole control of the business until 1990.

1990-2016: new owners and the first restaurants abroad

Fatburger grew into a franchise chain after Yancey sold the company to an investment group in 1990, keeping the original Western Avenue property. It stayed mostly in California until the late 1990s. In 2003, Fog Cutter Capital Group put together a $7 million investment and financing package, and franchising took the brand to Canada and the Middle East. The first Canadian restaurant opened in 2005 in Vancouver’s English Bay (Franchise Canada). In 2008 Fatburger opened in Dubai and at Chase Field, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ ballpark, then moved into Beijing and other Asian cities. Hip-hop kept the name famous: Ice Cube mentioned it in a 1992 song, The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997.

2017-2025: FAT Brands and a string of acquisitions

In 2017 Fatburger became the founding brand of FAT Brands, a holding company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker FAT (Wikipedia). Under chief executive Andy Wiederhorn, the group bought Johnny Rockets in 2020 for $25 million, then Round Table Pizza, Twin Peaks and Smokey Bones. Wiederhorn was indicted in 2024 over $47 million in shareholder loans, and in November 2025 the group reported about $1.6 billion of debt due immediately. Our report on burger chain expansion in 2026 follows the Fatburger deals that survived the crisis.

2026: bankruptcy, OHG Brands and 157 restaurants

FAT Brands filed for Chapter 11 on January 26, 2026, and a lender-backed group, FBG Bid Co., bought Fatburger and its sister brands for $595 million on June 18, 2026 (1851 Franchise). In September the new owner renamed the group OHG Brands (Fast Casual). Openings went on: a first French restaurant at Rosny 2 near Paris in the spring, and a drive-thru in Eagle Pass, Texas, on October 12. In October 2026 the official directory listed 157 restaurants in 12 countries: 66 in the United States, 62 in Canada, 6 in Mexico and smaller groups from Qatar to Tunisia, where our guide covers the Fatburger at Tunisia Mall in Tunis.

Key dates

• 1947: Lovie Yancey opens Mr. Fatburger in Los Angeles.
• 1952: she drops the “Mr.” and the stand becomes Fatburger.
• 1990: Yancey sells the company to an investment group.
• 2005: first Canadian restaurant, in Vancouver’s English Bay.
• 2008: openings in Dubai and at Chase Field in Phoenix.
• 2017: Fatburger becomes the core brand of FAT Brands, listed on Nasdaq.
• 2026: Chapter 11, sale to FBG Bid Co. and the OHG Brands name; 157 restaurants in October.