Two customers enjoying wings and a fat sandwich.
It was a typical Saturday night at Rutgers University when one college kid stumbled home in need of a late night snack. After randomly combining unique ingredients into a sandwich, he realized how delicious this “fat sandwich” was and decided to share it with other college students.
This started a fat sandwich wave that hit Hamden in November of 2018 when Mario Nicolaides opened Fat Wedge U on Whitney Avenue.
The concept for Fat Wedge U began when Nicolaides took a trip to New Jersey with his friends for a fat sandwich. After a few years and various jobs, Nicolaides opened a fat sandwich shop in Connecticut.
“My partner and I grew up in the restaurant business and we saw this concept and we added our own flare to it and took it a step further,” Nicolaides said.
The handwritten specials at the entrance of Fat Wedge.
Wedged in between a liquor store and a nail salon, the restaurant has a seemingly ordinary external appearance.
However, when customers pull open the door, they are met with a vibrant red interior with aesthetically hand-written specials written by Nicolaides’ wife.
Nicolaides can be found behind the counter helping customers and making food. With each new customer to pull open the door, he greets them with a smile and a friendly conversation.
The menu, while containing some seemingly normal plates like burgers and fries, primarily consists of sandwiches, wraps and burgers that are loaded with ingredients like mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, onion rings and mac & cheese bites.
“As far as the ingredients, we sample around and see what goes good with each other even if something sounds crazy, it might end up being really good,” Nicolaides said.
Besides the widespread toppings, each sandwich also has a distinctive name.
“Most of the names are from people that went to school, the different locations we went to,” Nicolaides said.
There are some interesting names for these subs like the Fat Crispy Cozz, which was named after a girl at Southern Connecticut University, while others like the Fat Blunt and the Fat Bitch are simpler yet outrageous names for a sandwich.
While most locals don’t seem to mind the quirky sandwich names, it has proved to be a possible roadblock for Nicolaides and Quinnipiac University.
Q-cash, which is a way for students to pay for laundry and supplies at the bookstore, started expanding to local restaurants and stores in Hamden popular with students. However, the university isn’t interested in doing business with Nicolaides.
“They didn’t really give us a reason,” he commented. “We assume it’s because of the names of the sandwiches and we told them we would change them but they don’t want to do business with us.”
Nicolaides working the register at Fat Wedge U.
When the university was asked about why it was reluctant to do business with Nicolaides, the university said it had no comment.
Despite this slight setback, students and locals seem to enjoy the sandwiches, according to Nicolaides.
“One sandwich could easily fit two meals, and for what you get it’s a decent price,” Andrew Dixon, junior international business major, said.
Around lunchtime, first-time customers casually stride through the door and Nicolaides smiles and hands them a menu. “First time here?” He asks a daughter and her dad excitedly.
They both nod and he smiles. Here comes his favorite part of owning a fat sandwich shop: customer’s reactions.
“Seeing people’s reaction is probably the most rewarding part of it all,” he said.