Manteca is getting a Fatburger.
Given Manteca means “lard” in Spanish the fact the city will soon have the first Fatburger location in the Northern San Joaquin Valley seems a bit apropos.
A franchise of the Beverly Hills-based firm will open in the coming months in the new ARCO AM/PM fueling station and convenience store complex at Lathrop Road and Crestwood Avenue just west of the Highway 99 interchange. The complex also will include a car wash that will be opening soon.
That means in just one location you will have three of the fastest growing segments of the Manteca consumer economy — car washes, gas station/convenience stores, and fast food.
To put that in perspective between new structures that have opened in the past two years and are scheduled to break ground in the next 12 months Manteca will have tallied six new fast food locations, four new car washes, four new gas station/convenience stores, two Tesla supercharging stations, and a mega Dutch Bros. drive-thru coffee operation.
And who said the California car culture is entering the winter of its years?
Fatburger isn’t your typical burger joint. Not only are their signature burgers hand-pressed from fresh meat while their chili and onion rings are made from scratch on site but many locations have not just milkshakes made from real ice cream but milkshakes made from Craig’s Vegan Ice Cream made not from almond milk — a slight faux pas given the strength of the Manteca area almond industry — but from cashew milk.
And unlike the Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers that has 14 menu options including extras and is expected to break ground later this year on East Yosemite between the bowling alley and Panera Bread, Fatburger’s menu isn’t that limited by far.
While offerings vary by then company’s 200 plus locations, there are four versions of the Fatburger, six other burgers including vegan and turkey as well as one made with Impossible Meat, chicken sandwich, buffalo wings with and without bones, four different types of fries (fat, skinny, chili cheese and sweet potato), chili dog, chili cheese dog, onion rings, two types of milkshakes in various flavors, and more.
The closest Fatburgers that are “inside” other businesses are in Livermore, Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, and Harrah’s Casino at Stateline Lake Tahoe. The closest free-standing Fatburgers are in Fresno and Bakersfield.
Opening up in the coming months just over a half mile from the new Fatburger location is a Chevron station with an Extra Mile convenience store with adjoining leasable retail space on North Main Street and Lancaster Drive.
Rotten Robbie’s has been approved to build a gas station and convenience store at Wawona Avenue and Airport Way just a short ways from Costco where a major expansion of their gas fueling operation has been completed.
It will be the second Rotten Robbie’s in the San Joaquin Valley. There is a location already in Santa Nella off Interstate 5. Rotten Robbie’s locations are primarily in the Bay Area with Lakeport the farthest north location. The closest Bay Area station to Manteca is in Livermore.
The city’s second Tesla supercharging station went into operation recently in the Target parking lot along Spreckles Avenue to join the location in front of Bass Pro Shops off of the 120 Bypass.
Dutch Bros. Coffee has been approved on a site that once was home to Sunnyvalley Meats next door to Cabral Motors at 1105 West Yosemite Avenue.
The opening of Dutch Bros. will elevate to at least 11 for the number of establishments in Manteca that sell primarily coffee. Starbucks tops the list with six if you count the in-store locations at Target and Safeway.
Dutch Bros. is a privately owned concern based in Oregon that has nearly 300 locations. The closest to Manteca are two locations in Stockton and one each in both Oakdale and Lodi. The firm also plans to build in Lathrop.
Manteca’s 13th car wash is proposed to be built at 1350 Phoenix Drive next to a 10-acre storm retention basin in Spreckels Park at the corner of Commerce Avenue across from the rear of Staples. The tally does not include a newer car wash on East Highway 120/East Yosemite across from In Shape that has been closed for more than a year.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
