{"id":283567,"date":"2026-04-24T09:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283567\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:53:07","slug":"enrique-meza-keeps-his-neighborhood-favorites-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/283567\/","title":{"rendered":"Enrique Meza Keeps His Neighborhood Favorites in Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a typical day, you can find Enrique Meza hauling camera equipment through the Fresno<\/a> countryside, capturing fields of blueberries, grapes, and stone fruit. His production company, Meza Films<\/a>, specializes in promotional video and commercials with a focus on agriculture\u2014an industry that provides the majority of jobs in Fresno County.<\/p>\n

In fact, Meza\u2019s first Fresno jobs were also in agriculture\u2014although in a different capacity. Growing up in nearby Orangeville, Meza helped pick fruits alongside his dad, who also worked as a truck and forklift driver. \u201cMy mom worked in a facility packing oranges for a large chunk of her life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

After leaving the Fresno area to attend school in San Diego<\/a> and start his career in San Francisco<\/a>, Meza returned around 2010 to reconnect with his hometown and to start his company. \u201cComing back, I didn\u2019t realize how beautiful this area is and the abundance we have here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Meza credits his upbringing for creating a passion and respect for food production. \u201cThe amount of labor that goes into putting grapes on our table is just mind-blowing sometimes,\u201d he says. \u201cYou need pickers in the field and packers to trim all the little bunches and put them in bags so you can go to the store and feed them to your kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beautiful farmland is a huge draw for visitors as well, says Meza. He recommends getting a feel for the area by taking a drive east on the 180<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019ll head toward the foothills on nice winding roads with a lot of cool scenery,\u201d he says, including fields full of nectarines, peaches, and plums. In February and March, visitors can enjoy the Blossom Trail<\/a>\u2019s spectacular show as the fruit trees bloom. \u201cYou can go see all of the orchard blossoms in full bloom: white, purple, pink, all different shades and colors,\u201d says Meza. Pick up some fresh stone fruit at Vineyard Farmers Market<\/a>, which Meza says has \u201ca huge variety of things we grow here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enjoy farm-to-table eats in a more elevated setting at Meza\u2019s favorite Fresno restaurants for fine dining: The Annex Kitchen<\/a> (local tip: get the fresh corn agnolotti if it\u2019s on the menu) and Cracked Pepper Bistro<\/a>. Meza says that the city\u2019s Mexican food can\u2019t be beat. \u201cYou can get food from anywhere: Sinaloa to Mexico City to Oaxaca,\u201d he says. Don\u2019t leave without trying the \u201cspectacular\u201d asada tacos from Taqueria El Premio Mayor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For drinks and nightlife, Meza recommends heading downtown. \u201cI\u2019m a big supporter of Downtown Fresno<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is just a great place to hang out.\u201d Grab beers in the Brewery District<\/a> at Meza\u2019s top spots Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co.<\/a> or Full Circle<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019ll find outdoor patio areas, food trucks, live music, and games,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very family-friendly and super relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents and kids will also enjoy a different kind of local wildlife, Meza adds: \u201cWe love going to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo<\/a>. There\u2019s a really cool African exhibit, which they redid a few years ago. You can see giraffes and other animals in a more up-close way than most other zoos. It\u2019s an awesome place to go with the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIVE MORE FAVORITES
Make the most of any trip to Fresno by exploring Meza\u2019s favorite sunset hikes and hidden gems.<\/p>\n

Great cocktails: \u201cQuail State<\/a> is a fairly new cocktail bar that has choose-your-own-adventure ordering options. You can let the bartender know you want your drink to have different kinds of flavors, and the bartender creates something based off of your list. My wife and I have done that several times and we haven\u2019t been disappointed. We\u2019ve even chosen the same flavors and gotten two totally different drinks\u2014and both were great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunset spot: \u201cThe Big Table Mountain<\/a> hike in Ruth McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve<\/a> is great for sunsets. They call it Table Mountain because the tops of the mountains are flat, and it\u2019s a picturesque, very beautiful spot with rewarding views. You\u2019re facing west at the top so you get a great view of the sunset\u2014it\u2019s difficult to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shopping: \u201cI always prefer to shop local. Root<\/a>, located right downtown, has a little bit of everything: lots of locally made gifts, housewares, jewelry, clothing, and even drinks. I also go to The Shop at KLSD<\/a>, right around the corner, which is very similar. You\u2019ll find anything you might want for a special gift. Check out the plant store, Living Together<\/a>, which is in that little shopping nook, too.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hidden gem: \u201cThere\u2019s a place that my family loves to go\u2014we\u2019re going there tonight actually\u2014called Gazebo Gardens<\/a>. I\u2019m always surprised that not more people know about it. It\u2019s a plant nursery, but Thursday through Saturday they do food trucks and live music. We like to walk down there, grab some dinner, and just hang out. They serve beer also, so it checks a lot of boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live music: \u201cIf you want to hear live music, go to the Tower District<\/a>. There are places called Strummer\u2019s<\/a>, Livingston\u2019s<\/a>, and Fulton 55<\/a>. They all regularly have concerts\u2014a little bit of everything from rock to country to soul music. Not too long ago, I saw The Mar\u00eda\u2019s at Fulton 55.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a typical day, you can find Enrique Meza hauling camera equipment through the Fresno countryside, capturing fields…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-283567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283567","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=283567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}