For years customers asked this Fresno restaurant to open a second location. Now it has
Album covers and concert posters decorate the walls. CD cases line the walls of the bathroom. And a giant mural of bacon and eggs shaped like a guitar graces the dining room.
The location of the newest Benaddiction breakfast restaurant may be new, but the vibe is pure Benaddiction to those familiar with it.
The music-themed restaurant officially opens to the public Friday at the corner of Maple and Behymer avenues in northeast Fresno. It’s in the former Manna Cafe spot, in the same center as Dutch Bros Coffee and Sprinkles Donuts.
The original Benaddiction location at Bullard and Marks avenues that opened about seven years ago (after starting as a food truck) will remain open.
Why open a second location?
“Pressure – lots and lot of peer pressure,” said owner James Caples. “People want a second location.”
The first location is tiny. When it got busy, sometimes customers would wait up to an hour and a half for a table, he said. They were constantly encouraging him to open another location.
The new place is twice the size of the original.
The menu
The food is the same, with its twist on diner food like breakfast burritos, French toast, pancakes with rum-soaked pineapple, and its signature “eggs Benaddict.”
The menu items are named after songs, like the most popular dish, “Hotel California,” made with pork chorizo hash, avocado and a fried egg, served on English muffins with a blackened aioli.
Prices range from $7.50 for a “Lowrider” breakfast burrito to $18.75 for “The Joker” eggs Benedict made with grilled salmon, avocado and bacon.
Along with coffee, it also serves sodas from Boylan Bottling Co., including its creamy red birch beer.
The restaurant
One thing that’s different?
The breakfast bar, which seats 10. It’s made from 190 VHS tapes Caples bought at a local thrift store and covered in resin to make a countertop.
The restaurant’s manifesto is also printed on the wall in big letters.
“Traditionalists be warned,” it says, in part. “This is a place for the day dream believers that feel put off by the country kitchens and corporate monsters that feed us premade food from mixes and jugs.”
Details: Benaddiction is at 10063 N. Maple Ave. Hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 559-515-6054.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 2:49 PM.
