Estrada’s Spanish Kitchen used to be at this location on North Blackstone Avenue at Grant Avenue near downtown Fresno. The building is now Saiz Construction & Development, which buys and manages/rents houses and does construction. Estrada’s was there from 1928 to 1997. It was hugely popular.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Wednesday’s top stories from The Fresno Bee brought a mix of courtroom drama, a nostalgic look at Fresno’s dining history and a fatal crash on Central Valley roads. From new testimony in the Caleb Quick murder trial to memories of a beloved Blackstone Avenue restaurant that closed decades ago, here are the top stories of the day from The Fresno Bee.
Here are Wednesday’s top stories to catch you up 
Cassandra Michael, 18, enters Department 50 of the Fresno County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, on the third day of trial. She’s accused of the murder of Caleb Quick from April 2025, when she was 16. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com Texts between teens charged with murder of Caleb Quick in Clovis detailed in court: On the third day of the juvenile trial, a Clovis detective read text messages between Cassandra Michael and boyfriend Byron Rangel from the day before and after Caleb Quick was fatally shot outside a McDonald’s in April 2025. Prosecutors argue Michael served as getaway driver in a revenge plot over an alleged sexual assault, while her defense says she never expressed any desire to harm Quick. DNA from both teens was found on a silver Smith & Wesson revolver, though the defense argues it could have transferred through secondary contact.Remember this Blackstone Ave. restaurant? Its Fresno history spanned 8 decades: Estrada’s Spanish Kitchen operated at 370 Blackstone Ave. for nearly 70 years before closing in 1997 amid a messy probate dispute. Founded in 1917 by Cruz Marcella Estrada Dillard — known as Nini — the restaurant became famous for its tostada compuesta, which she invented at age 11. Her grandson Ralph Dillard Jr., the last living relative trained by her, published a cookbook last year that has already sold more than 2,000 copies.Man killed in early-morning rollover crash near Sanger, CHP says: A driver was killed Wednesday morning after his 2009 Toyota Camry crossed the center median and overturned at least once near McCall Avenue around 6:45 a.m. CHP Sgt. Christopher Swanberg said the man, born in 1991, was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene. His identity is pending, and it’s unclear whether he was speeding.
Original stories by Thaddeus Miller, Bethany Clough and Nick Fenley
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.
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