{"id":500628,"date":"2026-10-19T01:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T01:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500628\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T01:50:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T01:50:41","slug":"the-team-behind-fresnos-buzziest-restaurants-and-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/500628\/","title":{"rendered":"The team behind Fresno\u2019s buzziest restaurants and plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve waited in line at Heirloom, snagged a honey-saffron latte at Otherside or caught the Instagram glow-up of Saizon, you\u2019ve been eating your way through one restaurant group\u2019s playbook \u2014 probably without realizing it.<\/p>\n

Now that group is growing again. Owners of Otherside Cafe<\/a> confirmed this month that their second cafe<\/a> will land at the corner of Palm and San Jose avenues, at the entrance to the Fig Garden Financial Center \u2014 just north of Fig Garden Village, behind Elbow Room and Chipotle. It\u2019s taking over a freestanding former bank building most recently home to Guarantee Real Estate. Co-owner Rema Koligian said in an Instagram video that she expects it to open by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

That new cafe is just the latest move from Brandon Smittcamp and partners Rema and Kevin Koligian \u2014 the trio (plus chef Justin Shannon at Heirloom and Saizon) are behind some of the buzziest places to eat in town. Here\u2019s the full lineup.<\/p>\n

Otherside Cafe \"A A customer places an order at Otherside Cafe, Brandon Smittcamp and his partners\u2019 latest venture offering espresso drinks, food and desserts in northeast Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Opened in May 2025 at The Row at Heritage Grove, Otherside pairs a serious coffee program with an all-day food menu. General manager Adam Byrd \u2014 a 20-year bartender at The Lime Lite who (which Smittcamp also owns) fell for coffee on a trip to Colombia and then worked at Verve \u2014 oversees the drinks.<\/p>\n

The house-roasted beans show up in creative lattes, such as the best-selling honey saffron (a sous-vide syrup of honey, saffron threads, vanilla bean paste and salt), a blackberry latte and a spiced ube latte dusted with red Fresno chile salt. Chef Justin Shannon built the food menu: breakfast burritos, avocado toasts, tri-tip sandwiches, salads and a popular $18 miso salmon bowl. Full inside look here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heirloom \"Heirloom Heirloom is a north Fresno restaurant serving seasonal, local farm-to-table food from one of the best chefs in town. <\/p>\n

The \u201cfarm-driven\u201d original<\/a> at Friant Road and Fresno Street is the group\u2019s crown jewel \u2014 ranked No. 4 favorite restaurant among Bee readers, with lines out the door despite its counter-service setup. The menu shifts with the seasons, but fans gravitate to the tri-tip, the Santa Maria burger and the mushroom taquitos. A second Heirloom is on the way to Clovis near Herndon and Fowler avenues, just east of Butterfish. Construction hasn\u2019t started yet \u2014 Smittcamp told The Bee it\u2019s still a dirt lot \u2014 and the owners are targeting late 2027 or early 2028<\/a>. Expect the same farm-driven menu, counter service, a patio and a walk-up window for online orders.<\/p>\n

Saizon \"The The patio area at Saizon, part of The Row, a new development at the northwest corner of Willow and Shepherd avenues. Photographed Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

The group\u2019s splashiest concept, Saizon<\/a> sits near Otherside at The Row at Heritage Grove and landed on the Los Angeles Times\u2019 2025 list of the 101 best restaurants in California. LA Times critic Bill Addison called it \u201cthe buzziest restaurant in Fresno\u201d and praised Shannon\u2019s modern American menu that \u201cflirts with several genres: seafood bar, small plates, steakhouse.\u201d Addison sampled a chile-rubbed flat-iron steak with chipotle butter, Dungeness crab legs with Dijonnaise and tomatillo vinaigrette, and broccoli stalks dressed with prosciutto, bread crumbs, shaved Grana Padano and grilled-lemon vinaigrette. \u201cImpressive cooking in such a massive restaurant isn\u2019t easy, and neither is personable service, but Saizon pulled off both,\u201d he wrote. Entrees run $29 to $58; brunch hits weekends. More on the LA Times nod here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Butterfish California Poke \"Owners Owners Rema Koligian and Brandon Smittcamp and chef James Boone are pictured in this file photo from 2017 when they opened Butterfish California Poke in north Fresno. The restaurant offers fresh and healthy poke bowls with customizable menu options. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

The group\u2019s longest-running concept opened its first location nearly a decade ago. After some pandemic-era rethinking, Butterfish<\/a> now runs two spots \u2014 Friant Road at Fresno Street in Fresno, and Herndon and Fowler avenues in Clovis \u2014 serving customizable poke bowls plus hot bowls like teriyaki beef, spicy crispy chicken and Sriracha fried shrimp. Appetizers include Tokyo fries drizzled with sweet-and-spicy sauce. Here\u2019s how the menu evolved<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mayd Modern Mediterranean \"A A custom bowl with Moroccan lamb meatballs is pictured in this handout photo from Mayd Modern Mediterranean. Melissa Gotelli Special to The Bee <\/p>\n

Mayd<\/a> took over the former Butterfish at Palm and Herndon avenues in 2021, and DoorDash named it the No. 1 Mediterranean delivery spot in the country<\/a> for 2024. The counter-service menu runs build-your-own bowls, lamb meatballs, tri-tip shawarma, shrimp, salads and \u201cnaakos\u201d \u2014 tacos built on naan instead of tortillas. DoorDash users love the Greens + Grains bowl and the wood-fired naan. The name is a riff on \u201chandmade\u201d and \u201chomemade.\u201d Original opening coverage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Butterfish + Mayd (Clovis) \"Butterfish Butterfish California Poke, left, and Mayd Modern Mediterranean are opening a new dual-concept restaurant location at Loma Vista Marketplace in Clovis. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the real curveball: Butterfish and Mayd are combining into one dual-concept location<\/a> at Loma Vista Marketplace, the new shopping center at Shaw and Leonard avenues. Each brand gets its own dine-in area, with walk-up windows for both sandwiched between them and a shared, covered and heated 80-seat patio. The owners are aiming for a late October or early November opening.<\/p>\n

Note: This story is an AI-produced recap of an original story by a Bee reporter. It was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Adam Adam Byrd, left, with Brandon Smittcamp, right, inside Otherside Cafe. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com \"Heirloom Heirloom chef and co-owner Justin Shannon, left, talks about the food served at Heirloom, with co-owners Brandon Smittcamp, center, and Kevin Koligian, right, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published October 16, 2026 at 11:05 AM.<\/p>\n

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