{"id":343897,"date":"2026-06-03T02:46:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/343897\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T02:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:46:19","slug":"the-hermit-crab-restaurants-of-fresno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/343897\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018hermit crab\u2019 restaurants of Fresno"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published by Fresnoland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To a large extent, Fresno enjoys a mostly-deserved reputation as Anytown, USA. Many things you\u2019d find here you\u2019d also find in most mid-sized American cities \u2013 suburbs, strip malls, easy livin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fresno does have its unique qualities, however, and whenever I run into something that feels like it could only happen here, I try to take a moment to ponder, to celebrate, to appreciate. I do my best to savor the moment and add it to a small-but-growing mental rolodex of \u201cwhat makes Fresno, Fresno.\u201d<\/p>\n

I grew up in Fresno County but have lived a lot of places. One aspect of Fresno I\u2019ve always been struck by, especially after some time away, is our flair for ad-hoc design. You know the old joke, when a busboy drops a glass or a tray, and some joker shouts, \u201cJust put that anywhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust put that anywhere\u201d feels as close to a driving philosophy as Fresno has. In a lot of places, things get torn down, redesigned, rebuilt, restored. When Fresno grows, it tends to do so horizontally. Out, rather than up; just sort of picking up and moving on when the time seems right. My great grandfather started a luggage\/leather business here that lasted into the 21st century and you could sort of track Fresno\u2019s growth by his new locations: Downtown, Manchester Mall, Blackstone, Fashion Fair (maybe one day I\u2019ll write that essay).<\/p>\n

When those businesses move, it\u2019s not as if the old sites disappear. A lot of times they don\u2019t even get much of a refresh. Oftentimes they just leave behind their shells, like crustaceans moving through their natural life cycles. People are fascinated with abandoned ghost towns, but I\u2019m just as charmed by obvious anachronisms that have since been repurposed, a sort of DIY retro-fusion.\u00a0Life finds a way\u2026<\/p>\n

I call these places \u2018hermit crabs\u2019, businesses that take up residence inside buildings that clearly used to be something else, without much effort expended on trying to disguise the previous incarnation. Where chains and big box stores are so often accused of moving in and homogenizing towns\u2019 local flavor, hermit crabs are an odd phenomenon whereby we\u2019re stealing that local character back from them.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re probably not many people\u2019s idea of \u201cbeautiful,\u201d or held up as shining examples of thriving communities, but I\u2019d like to think that maybe they say something about Fresno\u2019s civic character. That we\u2019re more focused on doing than on branding, that the act of creation is more important than figuring out how to sell it. Redesign a building? Sorry, Jack! We\u2019re too busy cooking!<\/p>\n

Let them cook, we say.<\/p>\n

Lola\u2019s Ricos Tacos (491 N. Blackstone Ave., Downtown)<\/p>\n

Lola\u2019s Ricos Tacos has been living inside the shell of an old Wienerschnitzel since at least 2011. A worker said it had been there for 18 years, though a Google Street View history shows that it was vacant as of 2009, and a different Mexican restaurant called \u201cSuper Nachos\u201d circa 2007-2008. Either way, it\u2019s practically a historic hermit crab at this point. The signs may be peeling but the restaurant is still serving.<\/p>\n

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Lola\u2019s Ricos Tacos on Blackstone.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland.png\n <\/p>\n

Lola\u2019s Ricos Tacos on Blackstone. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Al\u2019s Cafe (1823 W. Olive Ave., Jane Addams)<\/p>\n

Speaking of historic hermit crabs, Al\u2019s Cafe has been operating in an old Wendy\u2019s (complete with the original door handles) on West Olive since at least 2000. It was a Wendy\u2019s up until at least 1992<\/a> \u2013 when Wendy\u2019s was voted Fresno\u2019s second best burger, behind Fatburger (sad days, those). These days they serve a mean<\/a> (and extremely large) chilaquiles.<\/p>\n

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Al\u2019s Cafe on West Olive. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland.png\n <\/p>\n

Al\u2019s Cafe on West Olive. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Noodle Express (601 E. Olive Ave., Tower District)<\/p>\n

One of our rare non-Mexican-food-based hermit crabs, it probably doesn\u2019t take a genius to surmise that Noodle Express in the Tower District was, in a former life, a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The current Thai incarnation has been in business since 2019, though for a few years before that (2017-2018), it was La Arepa. For many years before that (circa 1993, it appears), it was the adorably named Tower Donuts, Chinese Food, and Hamburgers. It was operating as a Kentucky Fried Chicken from at least 1970 \u2013 1993. Based on our research, it got robbed a lot during that time, including twice<\/a> in two months<\/a> in 1982, and a third time four months later<\/a>. Just goes to show, things aren\u2019t always better in their original formats.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Noodle Express in the Tower District. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Noodle Express in the Tower District. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

El Premio Mayor (3110 E. McKinley Ave., Mayfair)<\/p>\n

One of our newer hermit crabs, El Premio Mayor (Fresno\u2019s most-decorated taco shop<\/a>) took over a former Popeye\u2019s on McKinley just last year. Oddly, they didn\u2019t change much about the old building besides the signs and color, but it already looks more like an El Premio than it does a Popeye\u2019s. Am I crazy for thinking Popeye\u2019s design sensibility suits El Premio Mayor more than it does Popeye\u2019s? The location had been a Popeye\u2019s since at least 2008, and before that, in the late 70s and 80s, a Pioneer Chicken. The late great Kaleb Horton wrote about a road trip to the last one of\u00a0those<\/a> a few years ago.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

El Premio Mayor on E. McKinley.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

El Premio Mayor on E. McKinley.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Aliberto\u2019s (3846 N. West Ave., near Quigley Park)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking this Aliberto\u2019s looks like it used to be something else, it\u2019s not your mind playing tricks on you. It was a KFC from at least 1994 until at least 2019. It has since traded extra crispy chicken for menudo and tortas. It is still very red.<\/p>\n

\"Aliberto\u2019s<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Aliberto\u2019s Jr., on West.<\/p>\n

Michoacana Market (508 N. Van Ness Ave., South Tower)<\/p>\n

Again, if the old school sign out front and the oddly big parking lot didn\u2019t seem like they originally belonged to a small Mexican market and taqueria, that\u2019s because they didn\u2019t. 508 Van Ness has a long history, going back to the 1920s, when there were apartments there. In the 1950s and 60s, It evolved into \u201cJoe\u2019s Chevron Station,\u201d owned by Joe Marzullo. It had become Bob Thorpe\u2019s Chevron Station by 1981 (Joe Marzullo and Bob Thorpe, both extremely good names for guys who own service stations). It had been converted into a Church\u2019s Fried Chicken by 1985. By 1989, Church\u2019s had become Super Taco, proving that Fresno turning fried chicken into tacos is a phenomenon that has been going on for nearly 30 years (at minimum).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not sad about it. Michoacana Market has stood in the same place since at least 2011, though the \u201cSuper Taco\u201d sign out front lasted until some time between 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Michoacana Market, Tower District.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

The historic (now empty) Super Tacos sign at Michoacana Market, Tower District.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Michoacana Market, Tower District.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Taco Lindo Grill #2 (5072 N. West Ave., near Shaw)<\/p>\n

While Taco Lindo Grill #2 looks like it stopped being a Taco Bell about three days ago (you can even see the outline of the former bell on the top), it actually hasn\u2019t been one since 1995. That was the year it reopened as Maria\u2019s Taco Shop (\u201cthe best chile rellenos ever, $1.85<\/a>\u201c). It seems to have become Taco Lindo in the last year or two. Seems like a safe bet to say that the tacos are better there now.<\/p>\n

\"Taco<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Taco Lindo Grill #2. <\/p>\n

Arsenio\u2019s (4615 E. Kings Canyon Rd., Sunnyside)<\/p>\n

First mention as a Taco Bell: 1987. First mention as something else: 2000, when it became \u201cFelipito\u2019s Mexican Food.\u201d Since at least 2008, it has been an Arsenio\u2019s, one of 14 locations in Fresno and Clovis. This one currently boasts 1.7 stars on Yelp.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

Toledito\u2019s (1704 Van Ness Avenue., Downtown)<\/p>\n

Toledito\u2019s, on Van Ness north of downtown, raises the question: is this a true \u201chermit crab\u201d or just a historical location? It has the look of a rad-icool 1950s diner (the Guy Fieri aesthetic) or something you\u2019d see in\u00a0The Brady Bunch. Ultimately my verdict is that this is a hermit crab, it just so happens to be in a shell that I\u2019m too young to remember.<\/p>\n

While the property dates back to the teens (the 19-teens, that is), with incarnations as the Sunbeam Floral Co. (1929) and the Green Korner Hamburger Stand (1938-1955), the current design seems to date to a building permit from 1955, shortly before it reopened as \u201cJan\u2019s Family Restaurant\u201d in July 1956.<\/p>\n

Jan\u2019s grand opening advertisement in The Fresno Bee noted that it was \u201chosted by Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Brown<\/a>\u201d (not to be confused with Emmett \u201cDoc\u201d Brown, from Back to the Future, the first person I think of when I hear \u201c1955\u201d). Jan\u2019s lasted until 1977.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Toledito\u2019s in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

\n 2 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Toledito\u2019s in downtown Fresno. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

\n 3 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0fresnoland (1).png\n <\/p>\n

Toledito\u2019s in downtown Fresno. <\/p>\n

Vince Mancini \/ Fresnoland<\/p>\n

In 1978 it reopened<\/a> as \u201cPoor Richard\u2019s,\u201d with Mayor Dan Whitehurst performing the ribbon cutting. By 1994, it was called \u201cThe Old Relic,\u201d (\u201chome of the BIGGER Burger\u201d), but had already closed and reopened as Toledo\u2019s #2 by the following year, in 1995.<\/p>\n

Thirty-one years later, it\u2019s still serving Mexican food. Funny to think that a space that still screams \u201c50s diner\u201d on the outside has now been a Mexican restaurant for longer than it was ever a fifties diner. It\u2019s a faded sign on a faded sign.<\/p>\n

Only in Fresno?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by Fresnoland. To a large extent, Fresno enjoys a mostly-deserved reputation as Anytown,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[141387,112,114,113,412],"class_list":["post-343897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-hermit-crab-restaurants","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-restaurants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343897","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=343897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}