These locally owned restaurants are happy to serve college students tasty options. Here are a few options to consider for your next lunch break. These places are all within walking distance of campus.
Tower Tea
Tower Tea is located on the corner of Van Ness and McKinley, a five-minute walk from Fresno City College. It specializes in drinks like tea, boba, smoothies, slushies, and coffee. The restaurant also serves a variety of food, including noodles, rice bowls, quick bites, and appetizers. It’s open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
It has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The average service time for a student to come in and eat is about 10-15 minutes. The most popular menu items are ramen, teriyaki bowls, popcorn chicken fries, and Thai tea.
Customers can place orders for pickup online.
Mi Cafesito
Mi Cafesito, located on the corner of Van Ness Ave and Home Ave, serves unique chilaquiles, breakfast tortas, and Hispanic coffee drinks made from coffee harvested from Latin America. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On weekdays, it is busiest around noon, but plenty of tables are available.
Evelyn Gutierrez the owner, shared that some students come in and stay for hours while they do their homework. They also offer student specials.
The menu has chilaquiles and breakfast tortas. It’s $16 for a plate of food and drink. They have a 10% discount with a school ID.
On Mondays or Tuesdays, they offer a deal: when you buy a chilaquile, you get a free cup of coffee. They offer vegan options as well, including oat, soy, and almond milk.
Quesadilla Gorilla
Quesadilla Gorilla, located on the corner of Echo and Weldon, across from Fresno High, serves quesadillas in unique combinations. The restaurant is a seven-minute walk from campus, and customers can order takeout on Yelp. There is wonderful indoor or outdoor seating and a welcoming atmosphere.
They are open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Meals are typically around $16 for a plate of food and drink. Depending on the busyness, customers can expect their food to come out in 5-10 minutes.
The most popular item is the Evan Boling, the number one on the menu, with cilantro lime chicken, bacon, and jalapenos, the house sauce called cilantro cream that comes in all the top builds, and white mix cheese.
For anyone who has a sweet tooth, they have a dessert quesadilla on the menu called the sweet-dilla. You can combine either Nutella, peanut butter, bananas, or strawberry jelly, and it’s kind of like a quesadilla version of a crepe topped off with powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
They also offer vegan options for cheese, and customers can customize ingredients to make meals gluten-free and vegetarian.
The atmosphere is great for studying and focusing. During happy hour on Monday- Friday from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., customers can get chips and queso or a cheese quesadilla for just $5. Student specials aren’t available, but Silva said they may be coming soon.
