LEADERSHIP
t was 2003 , and Kevin Fat and his wife , Sarina Hasegawa , didn ’ t know what their professional future held .
Kevin , who was born in 1967 and is a third-generation member of a legendary Chinese American restaurant family in the Sacramento area , and Sarina were living in Burlingame and working at Oracle . When restructuring eliminated Sarina ’ s job , they decided to return to Sacramento : Sarina went to work on the business side of her father-in-law Kenneth Fat ’ s dental practice in Sacramento , and Kevin rejoined the Fat Family Restaurant Group , for which he had worked in high school and college . “ It felt almost like a responsibility to work for the business , the family business ,” Kevin says .
As often happens during periods of economic uncertainty , Kevin had a fallback option with his family business , one that started when his grandfather , Frank Fat , opened a restaurant in his name blocks from the Capitol in 1939 . It was a reminder of the advantage family businesses can offer during tough times . While large companies often have shareholders , vast balance sheets and untold numbers of employees to satisfy , family businesses can maneuver more deftly and swiftly , powering through as best they can and helping one another .
With its nearly 40 million people , it ’ s little wonder that California is a bastion for family businesses , with around 1.4 million , according to the Family Business Association of California . “ Our members typically are these successful second- , third- , fourth-generation ( companies ),” says Robert Rivinius , FBAC ’ s executive director . “ A lot of people keep wanting to say ‘ family business ’ when they talk to me , and they throw in ‘ small business .’ I say , ‘ No , no .’” Rivinius ’ reply to these people : He tells them that not all family businesses are small and points to Raley ’ s , which has around 11,500 employees , and Pacific Coast Building Products , which has about 4,000 employees .
And family businesses tend to be more resilient , with the Capital Region Family Business Center in Roseville
“ It ’ s maintaining the family legacy and continuing on what my grandfather and my grandmother and my mom ( Lina Fat ) and my uncle and my other uncles had done before me .”
KEVIN FAT CEO , Fat Family Restaurant Group
noting on its website that a study of S & P 500 businesses showed that family businesses fared better than others over a decade “ on several key metrics of success .”
“ They don ’ t just go to an office every day ,” says Stella Premo , executive director of the center . “ Their name is on the building a lot of times . There ’ s something in the heritage of their families starting this business … and then them being able to have faith that if they can weather this storm , then their employees will be better for it , and then the family business will be able to succeed because of it .”
Building a family legacy
That ’ s how it is for Kevin Fat , who started in a marketing role when he returned to work for the Fat Family Restaurant Group . He was promoted to CEO early this year as Jerry Fat , his 70-year-old uncle and company president , began to step away from day-today operations . “ It ’ s maintaining the family legacy and continuing on what my grandfather and my grandmother and my mom ( Lina Fat ) and my uncle and my other uncles had done before me ,” Kevin says .
Over the years , the company grew into seven restaurants at different times and a commercial real estate group . But in the beginning , there were just the dreams of an immigrant . Frank was born in 1904 in China and was 15 when he arrived at San Francisco in 1919 , according to historic records . He came to America in search of his father , who ’ d immigrated in hopes of finding gold , Kevin says . Frank ’ s father didn ’ t achieve at the level he ’ d hoped , and they returned to China .
Frank sailed for China in November 1923 and was married there before returning alone to California in April 1926 . With just an eighth-grade education , he found work as a dishwasher at the Senator Hotel near the Capitol . He saved his money and , in time , opened his own restaurant , Frank Fat ’ s .
“ Everybody told him it would be no good , but his friends from the Capitol encouraged him and followed him ,” Marcus McGee , a Frank Fat ’ s manager , told the Los Angeles Times for Fat ’ s obituary in 1997 . “ He had a wonderful relationship with legislators .”
54 comstocksmag . com | October 2020