Popular Modesto restaurant expanding at home, opening another location in Turlock
When Rancho Fresco restaurant opened its first Modesto location a decade ago, it was a trek to get their fresh-made tortillas and Mexican food.
Still many found the spot way out on Crows Landing Road, and it became so popular that owner and founder Ismael Covarrubias opened a larger flagship site on J Street in downtown Modesto. People just couldn’t get enough of the restaurant’s tortillas, made fresh in front of each customer on a large, always-on grill.
Now, once again, he’s making moves and moving closer to some of his customers with a new location set for downtown Turlock.
The prime Turlock location on West Main Street in the city’s historic Enterprise Building will add to the growing Rancho Fresco restaurant family. While he has since sold his original Crows Landing Road site, Covarrubias opened a second Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill on on Las Palmas Avenue in Patterson last May.
He is also expanding his Modesto site, as previously announced, and taking over the adjacent former Monsoon Indian restaurant space on 10th Street.
Downtown Turlock site will include a large bar, patio
Covarrubias said opening a Turlock site “just makes sense,” and he wanted to be part of the city’s active downtown scene and nightlife.
“A lot of people there already know us, they know what we do. They know who we are and like our food,” he said. “So I can slip right in with the Turlock atmosphere. That area there has pretty good nightlife and our restaurant in Modesto has done really well after hours.”
The new restaurant will take up three units in the uniquely shaped Enterprise Building, which looks like a slice of pie from above, combining them to create a 3,300-square-foot eatery with a large outdoor patio. The more than 100-year-old building that sits in front of the city’s Calafia statue was renovated a few years ago, and the spaces Rancho Fresco will take over have been empty since.
Once completed Covarrubias said people can expect the same menu as his Modesto restaurant, as well as a 30-foot bar. The space will be able to fit about 100, with room for 50 more on the new outside patio.
The building plans are currently awaiting review with the City of Turlock, and once approved Covarrubias said he expects work to take about six months. So probably the earliest the new site could open would be September.
At the same time, Covarrubias is working on his Modesto expansion. The new 10th Street site will be tentatively called Rancho Fresco Cantina, and an adjoining hallway will make the two restaurants accessible to each other from the inside.
The cantina will have two parts, the side Monsoon used for its dining room will serve breakfast, burgers and wings. The other side, which was used as rental banquet space, will be a brick oven pizza parlor with a large attached bar. He also wants to create a walk-up window to serve the after-hours crowd coming from nearby bars and next-door neighbor the Palladium Nightclub.
His team is awaiting city approval on his building permits, but once completed he said it should be a quick turnaround to reopen the former restaurant space.
So why expand now? Like most restaurant owners, Covarrubias said the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on business. But, it has also created opportunities. With people walking away from businesses and leases, he has been able to negotiate good, long-term deals on his new spaces.
“With the pandemic a lot of people wanted to get out of the restaurant industry. So it made sense to expand in Modesto and Turlock. It’s a perfect time to get a good lease,” he said.
He also said his more casual style of Mexican restaurant that also catered to a late-night crowd would be a good fit for downtown Turlock. Plus his 10-year track record with Rancho Fresco should reassure his new community that he is in it for the long haul.
“We’re established, been in business for a long time, we know what we are doing,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say, ‘I don’t like the homemade tortillas’.”
For more on Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill call 209-526-5210 in Modesto, 209-894-2197 in Patterson or visit ranchofrescomexicangrill.com.
This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
