The area near Fresno High School has become a bustling little commercial hub in recent years, with the addition of Ampersand Ice Cream and Moto Delicatessen & Bodega.
Now one more new business is headed for the neighborhood: Essen Café.
The breakfast and lunch spot is in the works for 2026 N. Van Ness Blvd., just north of the ice cream shop and the new pocket park on the corner. It’s taking over the spot most recently home to the multicultural arts organization Dulce Upfront.
If all goes as planned, it will open in January.
Expect a casual little restaurant that’s open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — “almost like a French modern cafe,” said Betsy Wiegand.
She’s the chef and owner behind the business.
A 2012 Bullard High graduate, she lives within walking distance of the cafe.
The restaurant’s name, Essen, means “to eat” in Swiss and is a nod to her mom, who is 100% Swiss.
“She taught me everything I know in the kitchen,” Wiegand said. “My parents are both great cooks.”
Wiegand moved to Los Angeles after college and worked for the electric scooter startup Bird, before getting laid off during the pandemic. After, she went to culinary school and became a chef.
The menu
So what will Essen serve? A standard American breakfast, but with a twist and elevated, Wiegand said.
There will be breakfast burritos, French crepes and oatmeal flapjacks with molasses-cinnamon butter.
For lunch, there may be smashburgers, fried chicken sandwiches or a French ham-and-butter baguette.
“The best way to describe my food is elevated American, California coastal cuisine,” she said.
Assuming it gets its liquor license, Essen will serve natural wines and mostly local beer.
Coffee, of course, will be on the menu, including espresso-based drinks.
“And matcha — that’s definitely my favorite way to take in caffeine,” she said. “I prefer a matcha latte.”
And though it won’t serve cocktails, expect some other creative beverages.
“I lived in Venice Beach for a while, I’ve got some fun drinks that have coconut water in them,” Wiegand said.
She is now in the process of remodeling the 1,800-square-foot space, which will seat 50 or 60 people.
Expect vintage armoires, art on the walls and terracotta pots outside. She plans a small patio with seating out front, too.
“It’s going to be very homey in there,” she said.
The Van Ness building and neighborhood
The building, which has a space for rent next door, is owned by Aris Janigian, the author of several novels.
Over the years, it’s been home to an art gallery, batting cage, dry cleaners and the DeFendis Market, which sold meat and groceries in the 1960s, according to Bee archives.
The cafe will sit next door to Trolley Park, added two years ago on the corner of Weldon Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard.
“I think it’s really going to round out that whole space there, that whole neighborhood,” Janigian said of the cafe.
Wiegand is happy to be bringing a new business to the neighborhood she already calls home.
“It’s such a tight community of people,” she said. “I’ve just always been drawn to the appeal of the Fresno High neighborhood.”
A building at 2026 N. Van Ness Blvd. near Fresno High School is in the process of becoming a cafe with a liquor license application on the door on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The neighborhood is known for its tree-lined streets, small business and walkabout traffic. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com 
A notice for a liquor license application is posted on the window of a building at 2026 N. Van Ness Blvd. near Fresno High School on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. The neighborhood is known for its tree-lined streets, small business and walkabout traffic. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com 
Fresno High School and its iconic Royce Hall building on N. Van Ness Blvd. is photographed on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Related Stories from Fresno Bee
The Fresno Bee
Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.