Steak ‘n Shake couldn’t make it at this spot. But now this Fresno taqueria is moving in
Longtime local restaurant Don Pepe Taqueria is gearing up to open its fourth location, this one in southeast Fresno.
The Mexican restaurant slated to open around Friday, Dec. 20 in the former Steak ‘n Shake front of the Walmart on Kings Canyon Road, near Peach Avenue.
It’s a spot that’s gotten a lot of attention over the last few years.
Before Steak ‘n Shake opened in March 2017, it seemed like half of Fresno was watching and waiting for a chance to get inside. Steak ‘n Shake is a hugely popular chain in the Midwest and this was its first restaurant in the Fresno area.
It drew big crowds, but business fizzled and a little after a year later, it was closed.
Fresnans debated why.
Many said it was the wrong part of town for such a restaurant. The franchise owner blamed Californians unfamiliarity with the brand. Bee opinion columnist Marek Warszawski even weighed in, praising Fresnans for their tastes, which he said were changing for the better.
But Andrés DeAnda, who owns Don Pepe along with his family, is confident the Mexican food will succeed in the spot.
“A hamburger here was 6, 8 bucks,” he said of Steak ‘n Shake, probably too much for the budgets of people living in the neighborhood.
The menu
“Our food isn’t that expensive,” DeAnda said. “We sell quality food at reasonable prices.”
Tacos at the original 30-year-old Don Pepe at Blackstone and Gettysburg avenues cost $2.60 each. Tortas, burritos, and “super quesadillas” with avocado cost $7.30 or less, with the occasional $12 combination plate.
Tacos are the No. 1 seller at the restaurant, and “anything with asada” meat is popular, DeAnda said.
Shrimp tacos and shrimp burritos are customer favorites too. The new restaurant will have beer to pair with seafood dishes.
Don Pepe’s owners recently tinkered with their recipe for al pastor, the pork cooked on vertical spit, and it’s getting popular, DeAnda said.
“Our al pastor is very traditionally how it’s done in Jalisco, where our family is from,” he said.
DeAnda, a Fresno State grad with a degree in animal science, just returned from eight years in Mexico helping his grandfather run his dairy farm.
The restaurant
The new location is waiting to get its tables and make some final tweaks before it can open.
But it didn’t need many changes, DeAnda said.
“The opportunity came to have a nice building that was barely open for a year and a half,” he said.
It will be the biggest Don Pepe location.
There’s 22 tables at the new restaurant – double the number of tables at the Blackstone location, and significantly bigger than the 10 tables at the Shaw location. The other Don Pepe is on Ingram Avenue near Walmart.
It will also be the first Don Pepe with a drive-thru. It won’t be open at first. The owners want to get their service to be solid before trying something new, but they do plan to use it eventually.
Next door, the former Del Taco also closed. Back in June, The Bee reported that the restaurant is slated to become an Ono Hawaiian BBQ.
Details: Don Pepe is at 5085 E. Kings Canyon Road.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 11:06 AM.
