[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IN COMMEMORATION OF FRANK FAT'S 70TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 2009

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the late Frank 
Fat, the 70th anniversary of Frank Fat's Restaurant, the entire Frank 
Fat's staff, and the Fat Family for their service and dedication to the 
people of Sacramento. For decades the Fat Family and their restaurants 
have been a local treasure and I ask my colleagues to join me in 
saluting them on the 70th anniversary of the restaurant's founding.
  After immigrating to the United States, Frank Fat first worked as a 
waiter and then as a manager at his uncle's Hong King Lum restaurant. 
While waiting tables, a customer asked Frank to go to the downstairs 
gambling hall to place a 50-cent bet on a Keno game. The ticket 
produced $900 in winnings, but the unknowing customer had left the 
restaurant. Frank held the cash for two months until the customer 
returned. As a reward for his honesty, the customer later gave Frank a 
loan, which he used to buy a rundown speakeasy to turn into a 
restaurant of his own.
  Frank Fat's restaurant opened on August 31, 1939, at 806 L Street in 
Sacramento, where it still stands today. At the time, dinners were just 
50 cents and lunches 25 cents. When asked about his recipe for the 
enduring success of his namesake restaurant, Frank remarked, ``You give 
people good food, a nice place to eat it and make them happy. Pretty 
simple, really.'' Frank's simple combination for success has endured 
for 70 years. Frank represented everything good in a human being. He 
was decent, honest, hardworking and humble.
  Located only blocks from the State Capitol, Frank Fat's soon became 
the gathering place for every lawmaker and governor since Earl Warren. 
It is said more legislative decisions were made at Frank Fat's than in 
any office at the Capitol. Among them was the famous ``napkin deal'' 
that produced landmark tort reform that is still in effect today.
  After Frank's passing in 1992, Lina and Tom Fat, Frank's daughter-in-
law and son, modernized the cuisine with a unique California-Pacific 
style and expanded the business to bring Chinese cuisine in the 
tradition of Frank Fat's to people across California. Today, Frank is 
remembered for the success of Frank Fat's and an expanded chain of more 
than a dozen restaurants across California, including locations in Old 
Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville, Cache Creek and San Diego. After 70 
years of service, the Fat Family continues Frank's commitment to good 
food, good atmosphere and good service.
  Dedicated to community service, the Fat Family has continued Frank's 
philosophy of giving back to the community by supporting the Chinese 
American Council of Sacramento and the Pacific Rim Festival, which is 
held annually in Old Sacramento. In honor of the 70th anniversary, the 
Fat Family, community leaders, and restaurant patrons will raise money 
for Sacramento Crisis Nurseries.
  Madam Speaker, I hereby commemorate and honor the late Frank Fat, the 
restaurant that bears his name, its staff, and the Fat Family for their 
dedication in serving fine cuisine to the people of Sacramento for more 
than 70 years. I ask all my colleagues to join me in wishing the Fat 
Family and Frank Fat's restaurant another 70 years of unparalleled 
success.

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