You don't need to have a Masters in Marketing Communications to be a Marketer!

By John Kelso

Published: 7:13 p.m. Thursday, March 31, 2011

 

WACO — Lakita Evans may not get high marks for couth, but she should get an A for brass for the name she's given her new restaurant.

Fat Ho Burgers has drawn a big crowd. Not that everybody thinks it's a classy tag. But what the heck? It's a greasy burger joint, and they weren't having high tea anyway.

Lakita says a Facebook group tried to get her to change the name to something more sophisticated. But don't expect that to happen, because the Fat Ho brand is bringing them in. Even the New York Daily News has written online about the place. The bare-bones spot has gotten so much TV and press publicity that last week on opening day, they ran out of burgers.

Of course, this could come crashing to a halt if, say, competition pops up and Plump Prostitute Paninis opens down the street. But for now, Lakita is riding the wave.

"When they change the economy, I'll change my name," said Lakita, 24, whose restaurant sits in a modest neighborhood. "When they get these kids around here jobs, I'll change my name. If the crime rate goes down, I'll change my name."

Lakita says she invested a little over $11,000 of her own money to open Fat Ho Burgers. She raised the money by working overnight for three years in the Walmart produce department.

So what about the name, Lakita? Why did you pick THAT?

" 'Cause it's funny. I found it hilarious," she said. On Wednesday, she was ordering the T-shirts. I have a hard time imagining a lot of women wearing a "Fat Ho" shirt, somehow. At least to the symphony. Although you know they'll show up at a chili cook-off or three.

Consider the menu: The burger fare includes your Supa Fly Ho (one patty, with cheese), your Supa Dupa Fly Ho (add another patty, which justifies the Dupa), the Skinny Ho (no add ons, such as pickle or tomato), and the Dried Up Ho (plain meat, with cheese), just to name a few.

"The biggest seller is the Supa Fly Ho and the Supa Dupa Fly Ho and the Tiny Ho meals," Lakita said. The latter is the kid's burger special. Imagine hearing this at the dinner table: "Junior, listen to your father and finish your Tiny Ho."

Gentrification has yet to come to this part of Waco. An old maroon couch sits out front of the building. There's another couch in the yard next door, so I guess that's the patio. The glass in the front door is busted. A chunk of cardboard ripped from a box and turned into a sign is tacked to an outside wall. It explains the restaurant's pay policy: cash only and "No Big Bills." But the place is off to a rousing start. On Wednesday, I didn't get a burger, because I didn't want to get stuck in line for half an hour.

That, and not the name, has been the problem, Lakita said. "They complain about the wait," she said. "If you see a long line, why are you gonna come and stand in it?" She says she'll be hiring extra help soon to speed things up.

But even the pastor across the street doesn't mind the Ho part.

"I think it's all right, because they say the way they got the name was a friendly thing," said Pastor Michael Walker of the Overcomers in Praise Temple of God. "They were just sitting there, talking. If it's not cursing or offending anybody, it shouldn't be a problem. I know the people. They're good people. They're not trying to hurt anybody."

Besides, if it folds, it could become a British place, and they could change the sign to Tally Ho Fish & Chips.

John Kelso's column appears on Sundays and Fridays. Contact him at 445-3606 or jkelso@statesman.com.