TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Shopping malls in the U.S. experienced a slump during the pandemic era but have largely bounced back to their pre-COVID levels.
Part of this rebound is thanks to increasing food options, including local restaurants.
Tucson is no exception, with both the Park Place Mall and the Tucson Mall boosting local food and beverage options in recent years.
The latest addition is Fatboy Sandos, which will join the Park Place Mall food court early next month.
“Malls are usually all corporate or franchises, especially stores and food, as well,” said Fatboy Sandos owner and head chef, Rafael De La Cuesta. “So it’s really cool that Park Place is going in a different direction and catering to the local community.”
Fatboy Sandos began as a food truck in 2022, which “went off with a bang,” according to De La Cuesta. Lacking a culinary background but a lifelong home cook, De La Cuesta became fascinated by the concept of “sandos,” a type of Japanese sandwich using milk bread and cupe mayo as the primary ingredients.
De La Cuesta experimented with ingredients, starting with the well-known Japanese egg salad, and adding varieties like pork katsu and a vegan eggplant sandwich.
However, he soon felt restricted by the food truck setup.
“Food truck life is really hard,” De La Cuesta said. “It’s really hit or miss. Sometimes you’ll do great, sometimes you make nothing.”
This led De La Cuesta to seek out a brick-and-mortar location, eventually landing at American Eat Co. on South Fourth Avenue, along with opening a second location in Mesa.
Opening in a mall wasn’t originally in the plans, but the opportunity presented itself seemingly out of nowhere when De La Cuesta received an email from Park Place representatives. Even then, it didn’t seem like an option.
“The mall seemed kind of far-fetched,” he said. “I was like, ‘that’s too big for us.’”
But when friend texted him a photo of an empty spot in the mall food court, De La Cuesta jumped on the opportunity. He reached out to the mall and secured a spot.
With going from food truck to mall in four years, De La Cuesta credits the support of his community. “Tucson is amazing at really showing up for their locals,” he said.
He also credits being able to experiment and always be pushing the quality of food forward. “We pretty much just keep getting better,” he said. “Being more authentic and doing things different ways.”
De La Cuesta is planning a grand opening of Fatboy Sandos on Friday, August 2. However, this date may change depending on whether the restaurant is ready to open. De La Cuesta says to follow the business’ social media handles for updates.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
