On Saturday, Nov. 11, Fat Cat Burgers + Bakeshop closed its doors just before dinner service should have started. The day wasn’t what owner Fran Scibelli had hoped would cap off her three decades as a restaurateur in Charlotte, but by the time paperwork was signed on the sale, there wasn’t enough time for Scibelli to remain open for a farewell celebration. And with two cooks unavailable on the restaurant’s last day, they weren’t staffed for a dinner service. So at 5 p.m., Fat Cat Burgers + Bakeshop quietly closed its doors.

Despite missing the opportunity to say a grand farewell, Scibelli made sure her regulars knew the restaurant was closing, and gave them a chance to stop by. Her employees were all recommended for jobs with her brother, FS Foods Group owner Frank Scibelli, at his restaurants, which include Mama Ricotta’s, Midwood Smokehouse, Calle Sol, Little Mama’s, Paco’s Tacos + Tequila, and Yafo Kitchen.

We spoke with Scibelli about her decades in Charlotte restaurants (read a full profile of her here), as well as why she felt the time was now to step away and what her future holds.

Unpretentious Palate: What were your emotions like on that last day of service?
Fran Scibelli: Happy. I would say subsequently they were more mixed. I have a lot of customers who are very special to me. I’ve been doing it a long time. There was a family with three kids that’s become real regulars. I had a big group of cyclists who would come by on Saturdays. A lot of them have become special to me. Customers I’ve had for 25 and 30 years, they were coming in. I had told some people selectively and they would filter in to say goodbye to me. But I’m getting a lot of texts and well-wishes. And again, I really wanted to say goodbye properly, but it’s just how it worked out.

UP: What are all the factors that went into deciding to sell now? Was it a specific offer, or were you just ready to step away?
FS: I wouldn’t say the latter, but I’m certainly concerned about everything that’s going on in the world. And I would say that I was looking to have less responsibility.

UP: What things do you mean?
FS: I mean, the wars going on in Ukraine, in the Middle East. I definitely don’t want to be an alarmist, but I didn’t really want to have as much responsibility as I had to pay rent and pay payroll. I just really wanted to pare down. I think it’s a little bit of an uncertain time. When the Israeli thing happened, I felt it more strongly, because we’ve been in the whole Ukraine/Russia thing for a while. So that doesn’t seem as concerning. But it definitely feels like a scary time, politically, in our leadership, and all that stuff. It’s not like I’m freaking out about it, but I’ve already been through Covid as a business owner; I don’t need round two.

UP: Walk us through the process of the sale. When did you start thinking that you might want to sell the restaurant? How did things unfold from that point?
FS: It’s been on my mind, as I said, when that sort of Middle East conflict started, which was really recent. I’ve been approached over the years several times because it’s a great location. That center has really exploded. So it was just something that happened relatively organically. But once it happened, the people who bought it definitely wanted to get started. And I was happy to let them do that.

UP: Did you have any stipulations with who you sold to, like it had to be an independent owner? Or was it just the right timing?
FS: It’s funny that you say that, because when I sold Metropolitan Cafe, Bruce [Moffett] was very specific to that. I didn’t know Bruce; he had applied to be a chef for me a couple of times and didn’t end up moving down. So he actually walked in looking for the chef position and I said, ‘Well, I’ll sell it to you.’ And that was because I wanted to make sure that such a very special restaurant to me was maintained at the same level of quality. With this place, they are independent and that always is important to me. But really it was a timing issue.

UP: What are some of the pressures that you faced that are especially tough in the restaurant industry?
FS: This is me personally, but I started out much more fine dining — I wouldn’t say exactly fine dining, but definitely more upscale. And by the time I rebranded to Fat Cat, it was hard to get servers, especially, to understand that we have certain standards and whatever level of casual we were doing, our our standards are still there. It became exhausting for me to try to reiterate that repeatedly. I like to serve the guests well. That was the main pressure for me, was just feeling really frustrated. I really personally liked my team very much, but I just felt like I wasn’t executing in the way that I really wanted to.

UP: What does a restaurant owner need to do to survive now versus how things were when you first opened?
FS: I think it has a lot to do with social media, and that was nothing that I did. At Metropolitan Cafe, which was my first endeavor, you open the door and I was lucky to be busy and to stay busy for five years at that restaurant. It’s not like that now. I did nothing; I tried to put out good food and it was word of mouth here. I think that social media is really important and influencers and things — I don’t even really know to what extent, but I just think it’s much more important than it was.

UP: Is there an impact on restaurants from that shift in culture from word of mouth to influencers?
FS: I just think that if you’re young and that’s part of how you’ve grown up and it’s intuitive to you, you have an edge because you’re taking pictures and posting them. I wouldn’t even think about taking a picture of food — my own or anybody else’s. I just want to eat it.

UP: Have you seen a shift in diners’ habits because of social media?
FS: I would say that at Fran’s I had almost like zero problems with guests. People were continuously relatively pleased. I just didn’t have any issues. Fat Cat was a little bit different because it was more casual and it brought in a little bit of a younger clientele who felt more confident in saying they want this or that, whether or not it’s on the menu. But I would say overall, I feel like I’ve been pretty lucky to have a great clientele that wanted to come in and have a good time and enjoy the food.

UP: Do you think regulars are becoming more rare or do you think it’s harder to reach them?
FS: It seems to me that people have a lot more favorites. There are more restaurants and there are more good restaurants, right? So before they were rotating you in with like three different restaurants. If they’re rotating you in at quite a high number, then you don’t see people. I definitely feel like I was blessed for a long time with a ton of once-a-week guests. But I think it’s a lot harder to do that now.

UP: The growth and the changes Charlotte have seen have been incredible since you’ve moved here. How is the city today for someone who wants to open their first restaurant? Do you think there’s still space for that?
FS: I would say maybe in areas where there aren’t as many restaurants, but honestly, I would think long and hard. If I were coming [now] — you know, I moved here 30 years ago almost — I don’t know that I would do it, because I had another profession. I felt like early on, [guests] were really interested, but they would stay interested. I feel like now, they’re just looking for the next photograph that sort of catches their attention.

UP: What do you see for the future of restaurants going forward? Will it be possible for a casual, independent restaurant make a profit?
FS: I think so. I do think, though, you have to be younger than I am. I was pretty good at understanding the lay of the land when I first came to Charlotte, or what my vision was and how I wanted to execute it in Charlotte. I just think that someone younger with lots of energy, with a very clear vision, they can employ their peers and I think that’s a lot easier.

I was blown away when I did the Founder’s Feast dinner with Gene Briggs’ staff, his chef de cuisine, and his other chefs who came from various other Legions. They were fantastic, so professional. I loved working with them, so I do think you can build a team. I’m 61. I’m not that person who wants to lead a bunch of 20- and 21-year-olds, no matter how charming I might find them.

UP: What are your plans post-restaurant?
FS: Continuing to shred papers! That’ll take me another week or so. But I’m going to unwind a little bit. I do have some catering that I’ve committed to that I’m probably going to use The City Kitch for. Those are long term customers that it’s hard to say no to, but I can handle it. And I still have a little wholesale business with my bread, primarily OMB, some to the stadium, other people here and there. And luckily I’m doing some of that out of Mama Ricotta’s, so that’s great.

I’d like to get back into legal writing. I haven’t done that in a long time, but I was pretty good at it. So just a different part of the brain. But I found negotiating people’s schedules and staffing a restaurant fully was tough. Really tough. And I won’t miss that at all.

UP: Is there anything else you’re reflecting on as you say farewell to restaurant life?
FS: I could see writing some sort of little local cookbook. I started it a long time ago, but I would have more time now. I feel grateful that so many people love so much of the food. And of course I’ll miss that. But at this point, I feel like I’ll look back fondly without wishing I were back there.

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