There is a new deli in town by the name of Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack. The owner-operated deli, nestled in a downtown Muskegon neighborhood, hit its stride early and never slowed down.
Brett Gilbert, co-founder of the sandwich shop with his long-time girlfriend Jera Cook, describes the genesis of Fatty Lumpkin as "couple of young kids with few resources" who decided to put their background in hospitality management to work and open a deli.
They soon found a location in downtown Muskegon -- in a non-traditional, "but affordable" retail neighborhood -- and opened up shop.
Gilbert recalls his initial thoughts. "First, we [thought we'd] better keep our night jobs, but within weeks we needed longer hours. By the end of August, business exploded and it has barely leveled off."
Fatty Lumpkins features high-quality deli meats and fresh ingredients. They currently have three employees, besides Cook and Gilbert.
As for the name? "We traveled a lot. In Ft. Lauderdale, there was a neighborhood deli," he says. "One of the guys working there named a sandwich I liked the Fatty Lumpkin. We had a list of names (which included Fatty Lumpkin), and we couldn't decide. We thought maybe we should let others look at the list. There was an overwhelming response to Fatty Lumpkin." The rest is sandwich history.
To learn more about Fatty Lumpkins, you can visit their
Facebook or check out their menu on Urban Spoon
here.
Source: Brett Gilbert, Fatty Lumpkins Sandwich Shack
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.