{"id":232963,"date":"2026-03-23T19:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232963\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T19:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:26:07","slug":"fresnos-beloved-comics-den-reborn-as-a-michelin-recognized-taqueria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232963\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno&#8217;s beloved comics Den Reborn as a Michelin-Recognized Taqueria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1140\" height=\"573\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tacos-el-franc.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"taco slicing from a vertical spit\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"attach_desc\">The al pastor spit is the heart of Tacos El Franc&#8217;s operation \u2014 and soon, it could be spinning in Fresno. Photo visa Tacos El Franc<\/p>\n<p>As seen on Netflix \u2014\u00a0 a Michelin recognized Mexican restaurant is coming to a former Fresno comic shop.<\/p>\n<p>Tacos El Franc\u2019s expansion into Fresno marks the next chapter for a nearly 30-year-old family business that turned its small Tijuana-based taqueria into a Michelin-recognized brand with a Netflix spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s now betting that the Central Valley is hungry for what San Diego\u2019s two Tacos El Franc locations already offer.<\/p>\n<p>The popular family-owned and operated taqueria is known for its loaded tacos and mulitas, which are filled with grilled meat, beans, salsa and a creamy avocado sauce \u2014 then topped with onion and cilantro between two tortillas.<\/p>\n<p>Tacos El Franc was founded in 1996 by family patriarch Don Javier Valadez, who sold tacos out of a small corner shop in Tijuana, Mexico.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-81986 size-bs-biz-size\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/heroes-comics-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"heroes\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\"\/>Heroes Comics closed in 2023 after 33 years in operation, with the owner citing rising rent and a desire to spend time with family. Heroes Facebook photo<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Valadez and family eventually grew the business, acquiring two additional locations \u2014 one in the Gaslamp quarter of San Diego, and the other, inside of National City\u2019s Westfield Plaza Bonita Mall.<\/p>\n<p>The family business\u2019s popularity gained the attention of Netflix producers, who featured the taqueria in season one of the streaming platform\u2019s popular Taco Chronicles show.<\/p>\n<p>Food critics also took notice, ranking <a href=\"https:\/\/guide.michelin.com\/us\/en\/baja-california\/tijuana_2061688\/restaurant\/tacos-el-franc\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tacos El Franc in The Michelin Guide<\/a>, an internationally recognized restaurant rating system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur tacos are recognized by experts and fans alike,\u201d according to the Tacos El Franc website. \u201cWe bring authentic Mexican recipes to the table while keeping every dish fresh and consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fresno\u2019s first Tacos El Franc restaurant will be located at 110 E. Shaw Ave. near Blackstone Avenue, in the storefront formerly occupied by <a href=\"https:\/\/thebusinessjournal.com\/in-face-of-rent-increase-heroes-comics-in-fresno-to-close\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Heroes Comics<\/a>. Heroes closed in 2023 after 34 years of business. The property is owned by the Erganian Family Partnership, LLP.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The al pastor spit is the heart of Tacos El Franc&#8217;s operation \u2014 and soon, it could be&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-232963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}