Posted Wednesday, February 19, 2025 2:48 pm
Lake Okeechobee News
OKEECHOBEE — Fat Johnny’s BBQ celebrated their grand opening on Feb. 19 with a ribbon cutting ceremony organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Okeechobee County.
The new restaurant, 202 N.E. Second Street #10, has no connection to the old Fat Johnny’s restaurant which closed in the 1980s. Owner Daniel Meara said he did not know there had been another restaurant by that name in Okeechobee when he chose it. “I knew there had been a Fat Boy’s BBQ,” he added.
Meara named his restaurant after the pitmaster John Anderson (no relation to the singer of the same name). The nick name he gave the pitmaster was a joke, he explained, as Anderson is quite slim.
Meara is the owner of Sunshine Holistic Medicine, which he said is his passion. His foray into the restaurant business began at his store which is dedicated to healing with natural products. “We were making CDB brownies,” he explained. “The state said we couldn’t do that,” because the business was not licensed as a restaurant.
He said they moved into the building that formerly housed Chen’s Chinese and turned that into Sunshine Wellness Center, which included sales of baked goods.
Anderson came along and suggested they add BBQ to the menu. At first the barbecue business was inside the Sunshine Wellness Center. It was such a hit Meara decided to open a separate restaurant for BBQ food.
Anderson calls his barbecue style a “unique Florida smoked barbecue.” He said he does not put sauce on the meat. He uses oak wood and mesquite charcoal in the smoker. A sweet and tangy BBQ sauce is used to top the meat if the customer desires it.
The menu includes pulled pork, pulled chicken, smoked chicken bites, ribs, gator bites, chili, mac & cheese, collard greens, nachos, wings, and more.
The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Meara said the hours may change after they get better understanding of the demand.
Since the “soft opening” in mid-February, they have closed early some days because they ran out of food. Meara said they cook everything fresh.
To avoid disappointment, patrons are advised to call in advance, in case they have sold out of something on the menu. The phone number is 863-484-8319.
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Fat Johnny's BBQ