Fat City Brew & BBQ is more than just a barbecue joint. Owner Don King created a community gathering place for locals to come and enjoy.
Don’s wife, Nadja King, says that everyone loves Don—so much so that hundreds flocked to the business for a fundraiser last month to help in his battle against cancer.
Don, age 47, was diagnosed with Stage 4 B-cell lymphoma in May. The diagnosis didn’t come out of left field for him and his family, as Don had been struggling with his health for years prior.
“It really shook us, I mean to our core, because he’s the patriarch. He’s the everything of this business,” Nadja said. “But we are adaptive in the sense that we’ve already had to do this before.”
Nadja shared that Don’s health issues go back to 2017, the same year Fat City Brew & BBQ opened its doors. That year, he had bariatric surgery, a procedure done for weight loss. Since then, he’s faced a slew of health issues and multiple surgeries.
In 2020, Don was diagnosed with a rare disease called BXO that requires him to wear a catheter. Subsequently, he got skin cancer on his shoulder, which was later removed.
“He knows adversity and hard times,” Nadja said. “Yet he kept going and pivoting.”
Over the last nine weeks, Don has been in and out of the hospital. In his absence, his wife and four “pillars,” as Nadja describes them, are keeping the business running. One cook, two back-of-house employees and one front-of-house employee have been at Fat City for so long that they’re able to step up and help.
Back to the beginning
Nadja and Don’s love story began with a roller derby match. The pair was introduced by mutual friends in 2007. About a year later, they started dating.
Around the same time, Don and his friend Noah began doing “rib competitions.” The two noted how hard it was to get supplies around Stockton. Rubs, sauce, wood and other barbecue products were few and far between.
After noticing the need, Don and Noah figured out a way to help. In 2010, they started the first iteration of “Fat City,” called Fat City Griller Supply. Noah worked in the morning and Don worked in the afternoon; it was a second to his day job at a machine shop.
The next iteration, Fat City Brew and BBQ Supply, was at Lincoln Center in Stockton. It gained major popularity from 2014-2017, according to Nadja. They carried grills, wood, accessories, spices, sauces and more. Don even sold beer on tap.
In 2017, Don hit a bump in the road. He lost his machine shop and the store’s spot at Lincoln Center. But when one door closes, another one opens. Don seized the opportunity to reinvent himself and start a new restaurant, the Fat City Brew & BBQ known today.
“My husband is a very big dreamer,” Nadja said. “He has an entrepreneurial spirit at heart, and he never gives up.”
A family business
While Don grew his Fat City business, he and Nadja became parents to two girls. Harley is 15 and Amarie is 11.
“They don’t know a life without Fat City or dad running something Fat City-like,” Nadja said.
Both girls help out around the restaurant and even have menu items named after them. Harley invented “Harley Fries,” which are fries topped with mac and cheese. Amarie, on the other hand, has a sweet tooth, her mom says. The sweet section of the menu is called “Amarie’s Treats.”
“Harley helped with the fundraiser night that we had,” Nadja said. “She worked the night, and she was able to kind of put out some fires. She really was the glue, kind of like her dad.”
Nadja described Amarie as having a fiery personality. She even invented a “fire burger.” Amarie says she enjoys working around the restaurant and joked that she “bosses people around.”
Both girls appear to have a close relationship with their dad and have always helped him around the restaurant. Harley works mainly in the front-of-house, and Amarie in the back.
“My dad, I mess around with him a lot, I bully him a lot,” Amarie said. “But he laughs.”
Amongst Don’s health complications, Nadja reminds the girls that their dad is fighting. She’s open and honest with the girls, saying, “I don’t know how this story ends.” She says the best way to support him is to be there for him and stay strong.
“I tell my daughters there are some good days and there are some not-so-good days. I don’t want to call them bad days,” Nadja said. “Because every day above ground we have another chance to take the whole day and turn it around.”
Nadja said her family is “faith-based” and described herself as a Catholic. She turns to prayer for strength, guidance, help and peace.
“Keep your head in the right mindset,” Amarie said. She also shared that she has faith in the doctors and God.
The path forward
For now, Nadja is taking care of paperwork and other business aspects of Fat City. She also has help from other employees and the four pillars to keep things running.
Don is still on the path to recovery, and the future is uncertain, according to Nadja. But chemo in the center of his body is working. Cancer in other areas is still being determined.
Nadja said the earliest path to remission recovery starts in November, if all treatments go as planned. After chemo is complete, Don will likely need surgery.
“Lymphoma does come back,” Nadja said. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I need everybody to know that he’s fighting a fight, and every little fight is a large battle.”
As Don fights his battle, he’s got the support of a small village. Nadja often gets community members asking how he’s doing.
“We’ve seen a large amount of support from the community,” Aminna Khan, an employee and cousin of Don and Nadja, said. “People even come out of town from as far as Sacramento, Tracy, all of that, just to come here and support us.”
Don has plenty of employees to hold up the fort. Nadja said he’s a great boss who is very respected.
Nadja feels supported by the barbecue community, which Fat City has gained the trust of over the last 15 years. Although she’s facing many challenges, Nadja says she still feels lucky and grateful for what she gets to do.
“Fat City itself is just an extension of my husband,” Nadja said. “His love for Stockton, his love for people, it just shows in everything.”
Thus far, supporters have raised over 14.3k on GoFundMe for Don. It is meant to ease the burden of medical expenses and support his recovery.
Fat City Brew & BBQ is located at 1740 Pacific Ave in Stockton. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and closed Monday.
Updates on Don’s journey will be posted to Facebook and Instagram at @fatcitybrewbbq.