Ben Hensley<\/a><\/p>\nPopular Fresno restaurant Cracked Pepper Bistro is expanding its menu to feature a breakfast caf\u00e9 model built around specialty coffee from local roasters and a new, brunch-centered menu.<\/p>\n
Chef Vatche Moukhtarian, Cracked Pepper Bistro and Sanctuary Coffee owner, said the venture was driven by coffee. He said the expansion is \u201ca natural extension of my culinary background,\u201d adding that his approach to coffee and food mirror each other.<\/p>\n
He said the connection is more than just a culinary one \u2014 it\u2019s one that connects back to his childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI approach coffee the same way I approach food: sourcing the best ingredients and applying precision to the craft,\u201d he said. \u201cGrowing up with Armenian and Lebanese heritage, some of my earliest memories are of the aroma of coffee in my mom\u2019s kitchen in Lebanon \u2014 and the smell of roasting beans from the coffee roaster just down the street from our home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moukhtarian said the breakfast concept has been in development for about six months.<\/p>\n
The menu focuses on composed brunch dishes, with artisan and upscale offerings like pork belly burritos with over-medium eggs, Croque Madame with ham, cheese, mornay sauce and a fried egg and house-made sausages.<\/p>\n
The caf\u00e9 will also offer a full lineup of classic espresso drinks, featuring Sanctuary Roasting Co. coffee.<\/p>\n
Moukhtarian founded Sanctuary Roasting Co. last year with a focus on using specialty-grade beans and American-made equipment from the company Primo.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping it local allows us to control the entire experience \u2014 from green bean selection to the cup served to our guests \u2014 and ensures we\u2019re investing back into our own community,\u201d Moukhtarian said.<\/p>\n
Guests have long requested daytime service, Moukhtarian said. Traditionally, Cracked Pepper Bistro has been open for dinner hours Tuesday through Saturday; extended hours will see the restaurant operate breakfast and brunch hours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Moukhtarian said the move reflects the same standard he has defined over the last two decades in Fresno.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a classically trained chef for 24 years, opened Cracked Pepper Bistro 19 years ago, and won Guy\u2019s Grocery Games on Food Network,\u201d he said, adding that the expansion \u201creflects the same commitment to quality we\u2019ve always had \u2014 just applied to a new daypart and to a craft I\u2019m truly passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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