by Cheval John

Have you ever dream of being your own boss, setting your own schedule and making your own rules? Many have those dreams, but do not act upon them for fear of failure.

Mike and Laurie Haralson decided to take the risk and open up their own restaurant called FatBoys. It is located on 1932 Sam Houston Avenue between The Draft Bar and Humphrey’s and right across the street from Sam Houston State University.

They have a variety of foods including burgers, chili cheese dogs, wings, frito pie and many more. The Haralsons wanted their patrons to feel like they were in the hill country, so the atmosphere is family-friendly.

The process took them 2 years to complete. When Mrs. Haralson’s parents passed away in 2003, they left her some money allowing them to put their plan into motion. The next thing they had to do was to find a location that would be very convenient for the customers to find. They had a neighbor that owned buildings around 20^th Street and Sam Houston Avenue and she talked to a friend of theirs who had a gas station. He knew that they were looking for a building, so he referred her to them.

According to Mrs. Haralson, “She and I got together and she agreed to finance the building for us.

After remodeling and renovating the building, it officially opened in September of 2005 and they celebrated their five year anniversary last year.

To anyone who wants to own their own business, Mrs. Haralson has this to say: “You need to get into a business that is a necessity for people, not an elective, like going out to eat and do not lease a building from somebody because when you are making monthly payments on utilities, not only are you paying for yourself, but you are paying for the person that you are leasing from.

You can find them on Facebook and their phone number is (936) 295-3902.