Rancho Fresco readies massive new nightclub, traditional diner for downtown Modesto
Welcome to the new Rancho Fresco Downtown Entertainment Complex.
Granted, that’s not really the name of the expansion of Modesto’s popular Mexican restaurant. But, after seeing what owner Ismael Covarrubias is doing — adding a traditional diner and nightclub with a mechanical bull to his Modesto repertoire plus a new Mexican eatery in Turlock — you’ll understand the sentiment.
Covarrubias started Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill about a decade ago on the rural edge of Modesto’s Crows Landing Road. Then in 2014 he opened what would become his flagship restaurant on J Street in downtown Modesto. He has since sold the Crows Landing site, then opened a new location in Patterson in May 2020.
Now, he has taken over the former Monsoon Indian restaurant and banquet hall space on 10th Street, which adjoins perpendicularly to his existing J Street site. The expansion includes two new restaurants: Rancho’s Breakfast, Burgers & Wings in the old Monsoon dining space and Rancho Fresco Cantina & Nightclub in the old Monsoon banquet hall.
The former will be like a traditional diner serving breakfast standards (think pancakes, eggs, bacon) plus burgers and more with seating for about 50. The latter is the new 300-person capacity nightclub with a stage, wood-burning brick pizza oven that will make pies and wings. Plus it has that aforementioned mechanical bull.
Guests will be able to order from all three restaurants at any of the downtown locations. So if you’re in the original Rancho Fresco having a burrito, someone else with you could get a brick-oven pizza and another person could order a cheeseburger and have it delivered together to your table.
The sites have undergone extensive renovations, especially to the former banquet space. Now all three downtown properties share a similar wood-themed look. The new nightclub has a raised stage and VIP seating area that were all constructed from scratch.
Indeed, all that remains from the 6,000-square-foot space’s former Monsoon days are the long-hanging crystal chandeliers. Inside Covarrubias has given guests a lot to look at from its massive 60-foot bar to the 19 taps being fed by a new above-the-entrance-way, glassed-in keg cooler.
But you’ll have to walk all the way through the space to see one of its main attractions, the Professional Bull Riders-approved mechanical bull. The ride, made with a real bull’s head and cowhide, is surrounded by a soft inflatable landing pad.
Covarrubias said the idea came from his family’s love of the Mexican rodeo, plus “Rancho” is Spanish for ranch, after all. He also owns a rodeo arena in Mexico and has family members who are in rodeo. The mechanical version in Modesto will be one of the only, if not in fact the only, permanent such rides installed in a bar in the region.
The attraction pairs well with his theme for the nightclub, which he hopes will bring in a country-music crowd. He plans to partner with KAT Country 103 FM, the region’s powerhouse country station, to bring in acts to perform. He’ll also host other live events and local musicians on the stage.
“Everyone here listens to country music. KAT Country has been the No. 1 radio station in the area for the last 25-30 years. And we’ve got tons of farmers and ranchers here. But (Modesto) hasn’t had a country music club,” Covarrubias said.
If the live acts, bull riding and dancing aren’t enough entertainment, the nightclub also has large flat-screen TVs throughout and a massive video wall made up of a dozen 55-inch screens. Covarrubias plans to broadcast live sporting events and more at the cantina.
Covarrubias has yet to install the new outdoor patio for the 10th Street properties, which will add additional seating for 30 to 40 for both the cantina and diner. Down the road he also plans to install parklets for all of the downtown restaurants.
All three properties are connected, Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill’s small banquet room opens into Rancho Fresco Cantina & Nightclub’s back room, while the club has an opening at its front to the diner space next door.
Covarrubias and his team hope to finish the final details and pass city inspection in coming weeks. Then Rancho’s Breakfast, Burgers & Wings and Rancho Fresco’s Cantina & Nightclub will be ready to serve. If all goes well expect a mid-to-late October opening for the new Modesto Rancho family additions.
You’d think launching two new Rancho brands would be enough work, but when he’s done with Modesto he’ll start full-steam on his Turlock development. He will open his third Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill on Main street in the city’s pie-shaped Enterprise Building. The property owner is working on tenant improvements right now, and Covarrubias hopes to have it ready to open by February or March of next year.
For those worrying all these new additions will disrupt the original Rancho Fresco, which specializes in fresh-made-in front-of-you tortillas and Mexican favorites, Covarrubias said he knows his base.
“Rancho Fresco is not going to change, we haven’t changed the menu at Rancho Fresco for the last 11 years,” he said, but the expansion is a chance bring in more fans. “It’s one of these things, you start out with one and things get going and you pick up another. And ideas like this come up and you just kind of take advantage of it.”
For more information on Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill, at 1008 J St. in Modesto, call 209-526-5210 or visit ranchofrescomexicangrill.com.
