Sacramento icon Frank Fat's celebrates 80th anniversary

HE’S PART OF THE LEGACY CELEBRATING THIS PLACE TONIGHT. FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT’S THE FOOD THAT BRINGS PEOPLE HERE. AUTHENTIC CHINESE CUISINE THAT’S BEEN ATTRACTING PEOPLE FOR 80 YEARS. ALONG WITH THE SIGNATURE BANANA CREME PIE FOR DESSERT SOMETHING -- DESSERT, SOMETHING TOM CARROLL TRIED TODAY. >> YES WE DID AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. REALLY LIGHT CRUST, VERY FINE. MIKE: FINE DINING HAS ATTRACTED EVERY CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR HERE SINCE THE RESTAURANT OPENED IN 1939. THAT WAS THE YEAR A YOUNG CHINESE IMMIGRANT NAMED FRANK FAT BEGAN A LEGACY DELIGHTING DINERS AND INFLUENCING THE ENTIRE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. >> HE DID THE CHINESE AMERICAN COUNCIL BUT HE SAW THAT AS TIME WENT ON IT INCLUDED THE JAPANESE, KOREAN, PHILIPPINO, FILIPINO, -- KOREAN, FILIPINO, HMONG, MIENS AND OTHERS IN THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO BECAUSE IT’S VERY DIVERSE. MIKE: OVER TIME, THE RESTAURANT BECAME THE EPICENTER OF SACRAMENTO’S POLITICAL LIFE A HOT SPOT JUST TWO BLOCKS FROM THE CAPITOL WHERE LAWMAKERS AND LOBBYISTS COULD MEET, EAT AND DRINK. >> LOBBYISTS WHO REPRESENTED RACE TRACK AND LIQUOR AND THE BIG FINANCE INDUSTRIES, THEY HAD A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND ON LEGISLATORS AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO BOUGHT THE DRINKS AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO BOUGHT THE DINNER. MIKE: AND SOMETIMES THEY STRUCK DEALS ON THE BACK OF A NAPKIN LIKE THIS ONE FROM 1987 THAT BECAME LAW WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC HEARINGS. AND BACK IN THE 60’S AND 70’S LAWMAKERS FREQUENTLY FOUND THEIR MEALS PAID FOR BY MYSTERY DONORS, ACCORDING TO CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARIAN GREG LUCAS. >> OH MR. SO AND SO HAS PICKED UP YOUR MEAL. MR. SO AND SO COULD HAVE BEEN THE LOBBYIST FOR THE RAILROAD, IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE LOBBYIST FOR THE UTILITIE MIKE: TIMES HAVE CHANGED IN POLITICS BUT ONE THING REMAINS THE SAME. THE FOOD KEEPS PATRONS COMING BACK TO FRANK FAT’S. MIKE: BACK HERE LIVE INSIDE FRANK FATS, WE WILL TALK TO THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. I KNOW THIS BRINGS YOU A LOT OF FINE MEMORIES. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST? >> I REMEMBER STAYING HERE VERY LATE. I WAS A BACHELOR THEM. I HAD AN UNFURNISHED APARTMENT. I DIDN’T WANT TO GO HOME TOO SOON. SECOND, SO MANY LEGISLATORS AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. ALL THE LOBBYISTS. YOU HAD ALL THE POWER IN SACRAMENTO RIGHT HERE WITH GOOD FOOD AND DRINK. IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD WAY TO DO BUSINESS. MIKE: YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH THE KITCHEN STAFF. >> I DID. THEY GET SOME OF THE SPECIAL CHINESE FOOD THAT WASN’T ON THE MENU. MIKE: THE PRICE WAS RIGHT. >> I PAID MOST OF THE TIME. MIKE: THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING YOUR RETIREMENT. >> I AM. MIKE: THAT’S THE LATEST FROM FANG FATS IN SACRAMENTO. A LOT OF CELEBRATION FOR 80 YEARS IN BUSINESS. KCRA 3 NEWS. KELLIE: THE GOVERNOR HAS A TAP SET UP THERE TO COME IN WHATEVER.

One of Sacramento’s oldest restaurants is turning 80 years old.Frank Fat’s celebrated Wednesday with a big dinner, honoring the legacy of the family that, for generations, has hosted governors, lawmakers and lobbyists. “There were all sorts of stories about legislators walking into Frank Fat's, opening the door, walking through the tables and the bar and back to the booth and back to the front trolling -- they were looking for lobbyists to buy them dinner,” said KCRA 3’s former political reporter Steve Swatt, who covered the state Capitol for more than two decades. Walk into Frank Fat’s and you’ll find people today of all political stripes, with a love for authentic Chinese food -- cuisine that attracted politicians like former Gov. Jerry Brown. As a bachelor governor in the 1970s, he loved to hang out in the kitchen at closing time, where he might find a free meal, according to California State Librarian Greg Lucas. “Knowing the governor's concern for taxpayer dollars, I would say he might have shared a meal with the kitchen staff,” Lucas said. The Fat family has hosted every California governor since the restaurant opened in 1939 as well as celebrities including movie star Clint Eastwood. But Frank Fat’s biggest impact may have been on Sacramento’s fast-growing Asian American community. “In the Asian community, he tried really hard to make sure that we all learn to work together,” said Dr. Sonney Chong, a Sacramento dentist who calls Frank Fat his mentor. “Because he believed that a united front was always the strongest and the best for our community."| RELATED | 3 Sacramento restaurants get big food honor from MichelinBeloved by everyone he met, Frank Fat became a prominent force in his own right, rubbing elbows with California’s most powerful politicians, who always found ways to get others to pay for their meals, Swatt said. “They and lobbyists would get together at Fat's and they would drink together, they would eat together and make public policy together,” Swatt said. And, he added, “Lobbyists paid for those meals.”Sometimes political deals between politicians and lobbyists were struck on the back of a napkin, like the one adorning the hallway of the Frank Fat’s, commemorating a bill that became a law in 1987, without any public hearings, Swatt said. Times have changed in politics, but one thing remains the same. The food keeps patrons coming back to Frank Fat’s, especially the signature dessert dish of banana cream pie. “It was wonderful, really light crust, very fine,” diner Tom Carroll said of the pie. Fine dining brings patrons back to the Sacramento’s political landmark, located just two blocks from the state Capitol.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

One of Sacramento’s oldest restaurants is turning 80 years old.

Frank Fat’s celebrated Wednesday with a big dinner, honoring the legacy of the family that, for generations, has hosted governors, lawmakers and lobbyists.

“There were all sorts of stories about legislators walking into Frank Fat's, opening the door, walking through the tables and the bar and back to the booth and back to the front trolling -- they were looking for lobbyists to buy them dinner,” said KCRA 3’s former political reporter Steve Swatt, who covered the state Capitol for more than two decades.

Walk into Frank Fat’s and you’ll find people today of all political stripes, with a love for authentic Chinese food -- cuisine that attracted politicians like former Gov. Jerry Brown. As a bachelor governor in the 1970s, he loved to hang out in the kitchen at closing time, where he might find a free meal, according to California State Librarian Greg Lucas.

“Knowing the governor's concern for taxpayer dollars, I would say he might have shared a meal with the kitchen staff,” Lucas said.

The Fat family has hosted every California governor since the restaurant opened in 1939 as well as celebrities including movie star Clint Eastwood.

But Frank Fat’s biggest impact may have been on Sacramento’s fast-growing Asian American community.

“In the Asian community, he tried really hard to make sure that we all learn to work together,” said Dr. Sonney Chong, a Sacramento dentist who calls Frank Fat his mentor. “Because he believed that a united front was always the strongest and the best for our community."

Beloved by everyone he met, Frank Fat became a prominent force in his own right, rubbing elbows with California’s most powerful politicians, who always found ways to get others to pay for their meals, Swatt said.

“They and lobbyists would get together at Fat's and they would drink together, they would eat together and make public policy together,” Swatt said.

And, he added, “Lobbyists paid for those meals.”

Sometimes political deals between politicians and lobbyists were struck on the back of a napkin, like the one adorning the hallway of the Frank Fat’s, commemorating a bill that became a law in 1987, without any public hearings, Swatt said.

Times have changed in politics, but one thing remains the same. The food keeps patrons coming back to Frank Fat’s, especially the signature dessert dish of banana cream pie.

“It was wonderful, really light crust, very fine,” diner Tom Carroll said of the pie.

Fine dining brings patrons back to the Sacramento’s political landmark, located just two blocks from the state Capitol.

Sacramento icon Frank Fat's celebrates 80th anniversary

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