Tri-tip hot spot still smoking after 20 years in Fresno. Why customers shrug off noise, parking
The Dog House Grill in Fresno goes through 400 cuts of tri-tip a day — a number that shoots up to 700 on weekends.
It’s an indication of just how popular this bar and restaurant across from Fresno State is. But most Fresnans probably don’t need to be told that.
The Dog House Grill is a Fresno classic and it celebrates 20 years in business this year. Poke your head in any time of day — even on a Monday when restaurants are typically slow — and you’ll find plenty of people dining on tri-tip sandwiches or lining up to order.
The sports-themed barbecue restaurant and bar smokes its meats out front. The plume of smoke emanating from its smokers seems to be constantly reminding Fresno about its presence — and especially its tri-tip.
The food
Ask 100 diners what they ordered and a majority will say the tri-tip sandwich, stacked with several inches of tri-tip covered in barbecue sauce.
That was a standard order for customer Ryan Lacey of Fresno for years. He’s been going there with friends and family since it opened when he was in high school in 2004. But his order has evolved in recent years to include the large tri-tip taco — a taco so big one could be a meal — and a side of the salty fries. Maybe a Pig Sandwich.
The Pig Sandwich is shredded pork with barbecue sauce on a french roll.
Salads are popular too, especially the ones piled with meat and cheese for the keto crowd. And of course, burgers. There are five to choose from, including the ABC burger (avocado, bacon and jack cheese) and a veggie burger.
Dog House Grill is where Lacey takes out-of-town guests to give them a slice of Fresno.
“The food is always great,” he said. “They’re always generous with their portions. ... People are always excited to be there.”
The meat is smoked in three different smokers outside in an enclosure near the patio. Francisco Sanchez starts smoking the tri-tip at 5 a.m. After several hours, it is transferred to the grill.
Even he is amazed at how much tri-tip the restaurant goes through, especially the 700 cuts of it on a Saturday.
“Sometimes it’s not enough,” he said. “Weekends are crazy. It’s crazy.”
More locations
Although there’s only one Dog House in Fresno, the Billingsley family behind it owns several other locations.
They include Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield, and Main Street Grill in Cambria.
Customers are constantly asking for a second location in Fresno, and Dog House Grill was among the top requested names to open a new restaurant in Fresno in a Bee poll.
The Bee couldn’t pin down general manager Matthew Billingsley for an interview for this story, but he has said in the past that’s it’s unlikely.
They’re picky about their requirements for opening a restaurant, he said in a 2018 Bee story. They like to own the land and be near a busy university. They like to have a family member devoted to each restaurant, but they’re out of family members, he said.
The family once planned to open a location in Visalia’s Packwood Creek shopping center, but the deal fell through, according to a real estate company.
Sports bar
Dog House is a sports fan’s haven.
Aside from the TVs playing all kinds of games, jerseys of legendary players on the walls, and sports memorabilia everywhere, it is the place to be for a big game.
It has hosted sports radio shows on its patio and TV cameras often seek it out when covering important games.
It was always the place to interview fans, said George Takata, who spent 20 years in local TV news, including 16 as sports director at CBS 47.
When the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team won the 2008 College World Series, Dog House was the epicenter of the action in Fresno.
“Dog House Grill was just packed. Everyone wanted to go to Dog House,” Takata said. “Fans are honking their horns in front of Dog House.”
It’s a restaurant named after the Fresno State Bulldogs after all, he noted.
Parking and noise
With all that excitement comes a lot of noise and people — and their cars.
Billingsley calls the business a sports bar, implying that the sound level goes hand in hand with such a business.
The restaurant won The Fresno’s Bee’s poll asking readers to name the loudest restaurant in Fresno (followed by The Annex Kitchen and Pismo’s Coastal Grill).
Besides the sports bar atmosphere, a worker constantly reads out the numbers of orders that are ready over a loud speaker. It’s a practice one commenter on Reddit.com compared to eating at the DMV.
Dog House has a parking lot that is not nearly big enough for all its customers. It’s a frequent complaint that many Fresnans say keeps them away. Reviewers on Yelp.com call Dog House’s parking situation “insane” and “a disaster.”
“Both parking and seating here is like playing roulette. There is never a slow hour,” said Sisomvang S. on Yelp.com.
Though a section of the restaurant is full service, meaning workers wait on your table, much of it isn’t. Customers order at the counter and nab a seat when one frees up.
Lacey, the regular customer, said he thinks people turning increasingly to takeout food in recent years has eased the traffic in the lot.
“Yeah, the parking is a thing, but I have noticed over the years since they have offered online orders, the parking has not been as bad,” he said. “Obviously, if you go at certain time, you are going to experience it.”
And although the parking and sound level are enough to keep some people away, it doesn’t seem to matter since Dog House is almost always busy.
Or, as Takata puts it, “If you can be wildly successful with the worst parking lot in the Central Valley, you’re doing something right.”
Details: The Dog House Grill is at 2789 East Shaw Ave. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. 559-294-9920.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
