Lovie Yancey (January 3, 1912 – January 26, 2008) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain.
Founding of Fatburger
Yancey originally owned a small restaurant in Tucson. In 1947, she founded Fatburger under its original name, Mr. Fatburger. In 1952, Yancey shed both her business partners and the "Mr." from the name of the hamburger stand, and Fatburger was officially born.“The name of the store was my idea,” Yancey said. “I wanted to get across the idea of a big burger with everything on it. . . a meal in itself.” From the beginning, Yancey was a fixture at the original Fatburger, where customers, who included entertainers such as Redd Foxx and Ray Charles, could custom-order their burgers. Yancey always claimed, "I don't worry about McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's. They may be more popular, but a good hamburger sells itself, and I don't think anybody makes as good a hamburger as we do."[1]“Yancey was very hands-on in the business, sometimes working 16-hour shifts to ensure things ran smoothly, and burgers were cooked to perfection”