Mak's Eatery Is One Of A Number Of Additions At Chandler Airport

Chandler Executive Airport, Fresno's other terminal, is getting more attention these days.

One of the city's newest restaurants, Mak's Landing, has opened at the airport in southwest Fresno, less than 2 miles from downtown.

Housed in the former Runway Cafe, Mak's specialties include a steak sandwich and a steak burger.

Marc Balucas and Kerry Hedberg are the principals. Balucas is a certified executive chef who operates a catering company and used to run JJ's Restaurant with his father. JJ's was sold in 2001 and is now Long Island Bar & Grill.

Hedberg was born into a family that markets seafood in Salinas.

The restaurant is named after Makynzee Balucas, who is Marc's son and a BMX star. Balucas and Hedberg opened the eatery because Balucas missed running a restaurant, and to diversify beyond catering.

"I missed the customers," Marc Balucas said. "And the west side is growing."

Pilots, neighborhood residents and downtown office workers provide Mak's with a steady breakfast and lunch business, he said. He also is attracting his catering customers.

"It's been great." he said.

The city's airports department, which is Mak's landlord, plans to replace the counter and stools, but will keep the pre-World War II style, said Brendan Carmody, manager of airport property.

Chandler was dedicated for public use as an airfield in 1929.

Mak's isn't the only addition to the airport. Michael Hovsepian has opened Aloha Aircraft Sales in one of the historic hangars and Cessna dealer Kent Scott and developer Russ Smith plan to open a 300,000-square-foot complex that will include a flight school, fuel stations, maintenance hangar and rental hangars.

About 250 airplanes are based at Chandler.

A red birdy says ...

A big red robin is headed to northwest Fresno.

Red Robin, the popular family restaurant, will open by June in Broadway Faire shopping center at Shaw and Valentine avenues.

It will be the fourth in the area; the others are at Universal Park shopping center near Blackstone and Nees avenues; Manchester Center at Shields and Blackstone avenues; and at Sierra Vista Mall at Clovis and Shaw avenues in Clovis.

"The Fresno community has responded so well to Red Robin over the past 20 years that we decided to open another restaurant," said Scott Soller, director of operations for Top Robin Ventures, a franchisee who operates the local restaurants.

The company was attracted to the population growth of northwest Fresno, the proximity to the theaters at Broadway Faire and to the high profile of West Shaw Avenue, said Michael Kennedy, a Grubb&Ellis/Pearson Commercial agent who represented the restaurant chain.

A partnership made in coffee

Norma Fausone, owner of Cali's Frozen Custard in Fresno, was looking to expand her menu by offering higher-quality coffee drinks. But rather than turn to the major players in the industry, she found what she was looking for locally.

Fausone is partnering with Planet Java, a Fresno-based coffee house chain, to provide her customers with new coffee drinks.

"They are local, well known and serve a great cup of coffee," Fausone said.

Like many independent restaurants, Fausone was looking for new ways to increase customers, especially during the day.

The new coffee drinks will be available to purchase at the restaurant's drive-through window from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and inside the restaurant after that.

To help kick off the introduction of the new drinks, Cali's is planning a one-time offer of free coffee from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

Keith Caskey, co-owner of Planet Java, said this is the first time he has partnered with a fast-food restaurant to supply their coffee, but he said it could lead to more.

"I think people are demanding higher-quality coffee than what is being offered," Caskey said. "And that is what we offer."

A healthy business

One of the nation's largest distributors of animal health products is consolidating Tulare and Fresno operations into a new warehouse in Visalia.

Walco International has signed a lease to occupy 68,000 square feet in a warehouse owned by The Allen Group, a major commercial developer.

"Visalia provides a strategic location for the distribution of our products throughout the West Coast," said Mark Gray, vice president of operations for Walco.

The warehouse is near Visalia's airport, but is only a small part of The Allen Group's presence in the San Joaquin Valley. The company has developed about 2 million square feet of industrial and commercial property in Visalia, where it has the 480-acre Midstate 99 Distribution Center.

VF Corp, one of the world's largest clothing companies, announced plans to operate a 1 million-square-foot warehouse at Midstate 99.

The Allen Group also has the 700-acre International Trade and Transportation Center in Shafter, which is home to a 1.7 million-square-foot distribution center, and recently bought 107 acres next to Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, where it plans offices and stores, said Jon Cross, a company spokesman.

That adds up to a lot of land to develop, but Cross said businesses are seeking out space in the Valley because they want out of congested and expensive real estate in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions.

The Allen Group is developing a total of 8,000 acres in the United States, including 6,000 acres near Dallas, Texas. It also will be a partner with BNSF railway in an industrial park project in Texas.

All this from a company started by Richard Allen in Visalia after he sold a cup-manufacturing business.

Sanford Nax and Robert Rodriguez contributed to Word on the Street. It was compiled by Nax.

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