31-05-2025
A 4-year-old named this Fresno family's breakfast restaurant. What's on the menu?
Inside Look is a Fresno Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.
When a new breakfast restaurant is named by the daughter of the owners, you know it's a family-run business.
That's the case at the newly opened Branch Breakfast Co. in northwest Fresno, at Marks and Herndon avenues near Save Mart.
It opened in early May in the former Daddy Waffles spot, which closed late last year.
Branch was the name of the make-believe restaurant where then 4-year-old Kaydence Cardoza (she's now 9) served her parents Cheerios and milk on a folding Minnie Mouse table.
Brett and Stephanie Cardoza have a more sophisticated menu at their real restaurant.
It features a little bit of everything — traditional breakfasts, some Mexican-influenced dishes — and everything from the biscuits to the mixed-berry jam is made from scratch.
'We have people ordering just a biscuit for the jam,' said server Esther Contreras.
A chile verde omelet is proving to be a popular favorite, made with Oaxaca cheese.
You can catch a whiff of Stephanie's favorite, the shrimp and grits bowl, before it even hits the table. It's made with sweet chili shrimp, linguica and two sunnyside up eggs.
There are also pancakes, waffles, and bacon, along with steak and eggs, avocado toast and a burger with an English muffin bun.
The Cardozas know they're opening a restaurant at a time when others are closing. The last BJ's Kountry Kitchen closed recently (replaced by The Waffle Place), as did Country Kitchen in downtown Fresno, and several others.
Food costs are high, customers spooked by tariffs are pulling back on spending and the price of eggs has been an emotional roller coaster for everyone in the breakfast business.
'It's a huge risk because it's everything we have,' Brett Cardoza said. 'It's our whole heart and soul.'
The pair doesn't have investors. This project is their baby.
But both have years in the restaurant industry — she managing and serving, and he managing at some of the most respected restaurants in town. He recently oversaw food and beverage operations for all eight restaurants at Table Mountain Casino.
But the price of eggs is coming down, and they know how to keep costs down, he said.
Most dishes on the menu are priced between $16 and $18.
Plus, the restaurant is a dream for the couple, and there are always challenges when tackling that, Stephanie Cardoza said.
For her, opening Branch is a return to the neighborhood she grew up in (where people routinely pull their golf carts up to the back of the restaurant). She's a Bullard High School graduate.
He went to Immanuel High School in Reedley, his first job washing dishes and The Spike & Rail Steak House in Selma.
In addition to 9-year-old Kaydence, you may also see their 4-year-old, Owen, in the restaurant.
Kaydence named her make-believe restaurant Branch (they're not quite sure why, though she did draw a picture of a branch with a bird, and she was watching the TV show 'Trolls' at the time, which has a character named Branch).
Also, Brett Cardoza, who grew up in Laton, always loved the oak trees in his home town. A large oak branch decorates the entrance to the restaurant. It's a metaphor for the branches of a family tree, and brings back memories of their little girl's play restaurant, the parents note.
Stephanie Cardoza smiles when she remembers how she ordered a soda at that make-believe restaurant, but her daughter said all they had was milk. She brought out the entire gallon, with a straw sticking out the top.
'We're like, 'Wow, this is great service, but your foods costs are going to be terrible,'' she joked.
Details: Branch Breakfast Co. is at 7089 N. Marks. Ave., suite 101. Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Tuesdays. 559-214-5424.
