Hungry for a challenge
Alumni enjoying success with popular taco eatery
Brotherhood brought them together more than 20 years ago. Saturday golf games helped them stay in touch. And a new business venture likely will cement their friendship for life.
You sense a little mischief in graduates Clint Bixler (’88 BBA) and Eddie White (’91 BBA) when talk turns to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. They reminisce about the parties and formals, the annual Shrimp Fest, Saturday nights at Gilligan’s and “Nixon Ball at Texas Hall.” You know they want to say more but don’t because they’re in mixed company.
Clint Bixler (‘88), left, and Eddie White (‘91) own two Fuzzy’s Taco Shop locations.
They remember the good times and hope to create more memories for a new generation of Mavericks with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Located just east of Gilligan’s in what used to be an automotive parts house, the restaurant has quickly become a favorite for UT Arlington students, faculty and staff.
“Uniqueness is the key,” Bixler says. “We wanted to bring something to Arlington that would stand out from the usual restaurant chains.”
So they bought into the Fuzzy’s brand, which serves garlic beef, baja fish and shrimp tacos with “Butt-Burnin’ Hot Sauce,” along with margaritas and 10 beers on tap. They are the first franchisees of the taco enterprise that has become popular in Denton, Fort Worth and Lubbock.
A typical lunchtime reflects various walks of life: law enforcement, families, business people. The eatery is one of the most popular in Arlington despite having been open less than a year. It currently resides at the top of the Best Restaurant in Arlington list and was named Best of Arlington 2009 during the Taste of Arlington event.
Such success surprised the owners because neither expected to become restaurateurs in their mid-30s. Both graduated with degrees in real estate/finance. Bixler works in commercial real estate and White in banking, and despite their Fuzzy’s good fortune, they’re keeping those jobs.
“We want to continually reinvest in the company to make it bigger and better,” White says.
The two are well on their way. They recently opened a second location in south Arlington.
