How this unique location helps keep Clovis burger joint cooking after 20+ years
Just beyond the acres of farmland on Fresno State’s campus and to the north of Highway 168, a Fresno-area restaurant operates seemingly out of place.
After all, the typical path for a restaurant is to be located within a larger development like a shopping center or in a high-traffic area with good visibility.
Not isolated blocks from other commercial and retail establishments.
Yet the Clovis Colorado Grill restaurant has thrived in solitude for 21 years and counting.
“It’s kind of become a local destination for a good burger,” said Hossein Nekumanesh, who heads the Colorado Grill operations these days and is the son of the restaurant founder Ali Nekumanesh.
Despite its odd location on 0.35 acres of triangular-shaped land at the southeast corner of Barstow and Willow avenues, the Clovis Colorado Grill isn’t exactly a hidden gem.
Its parking lot often is packed, with customers regularly coming in and out of the restaurant since it opened in 2005.
But even Ali Nekumanesh had initial reservations.
“At first, I wasn’t too high on the location,” Nekumanesh said. “When we bought the land, the building there wasn’t really even a building. It was a skeleton. The boards were up. Nothing else was done. The person who had it (previously) wanted to do a convenience store.
“My wife (Debbie), though, she was high on the spot. It was at the corner of a traffic light. Close to Fresno State, and Fresno State’s (campus) wasn’t going anywhere. And there was no way other businesses could come around and hide our restaurant. It became a great spot.”
Keys to success
Among Colorado Grill’s keys to success has been first off, cooking a good burger. Colorado Grill, whose original location is in Fresno near Blackstone and Herndon avenues, has has earned recognized multiple times for having the best burger in the Valley by the California Restaurant Association Fresno Chapter, most recently in 2023.
But Colorado Grill also has tried to stay true to its roots of being a fast-casual restaurant that strives to provide good customer service and an appealing in-dine atmosphere with its 1950s-themed interior.
Nekumanesh has long argued that his restaurants serve “gourmet” food with “quick service.”
It helps to maintain a loyal customer base.
“It almost feels like the customers feel a sense of ownership here,” said district manager Quawhan Phillips. “Our employees take pride in working here. The customers take pride in being a loyal customer here.
“When I wear my Colorado Grill shirt out in public, you don’t know how many people come up to me and tell me ‘Man, that’s my favorite burger place.’“
Origin story
Colorado Grill was originally created in 1998 after Nekumanesh decided after five years that he no longer wanted to be a franchise operator of a Fat Burger but the owner of his own burger restaurant.
Immediate success led to Colorado Grill exploring expansion ideas. Customer feedback led to Nekumanesh looking for a second location to be opened in the Clovis area.
Nekumanesh once forecasted that building the Colorado Grill restaurant at its spot in Clovis would beat the eventual trend of farmland becoming commercial real estate.
That’s yet to happen. With the adjacent farmland owned by Fresno Staten, and the area’s retail development getting built eventually just to the southwest at Campus Pointe.
Nonetheless, Nekumanesh said he’s been plenty happy with business at the Clovis Colorado Grill.
“It didn’t start as a struggling endeavor as some businesses do,” Nekumanesh said.
Colorado Grill eventually opened a third location, in northwest Fresno, before that restaurant was renamed Wagyu 2 Go Burgers.
Colorado Grill also operates a food truck.
Colorado Grill never became a national chain like a McDonald as Nekumanesh once envisioned when he first opened his own burger restaurant.
But that’s OK, Nekumanesh said.
“We believe that if we make a promise to the consuming public that we’re going to serve a premium, fresh burger ... that’s not going to change,” Nekumanesh said. “We’re a small mom-and-pop family restaurant who cares about their customers and their experience.
“That’s been the genius behind it all.”
