Mad Duck opening fourth brewpub, in growing part of Fresno. Here’s an early sneak peek
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The Duck is growing up.
Mad Duck Craft Brewing Co. opens its fourth brewpub and restaurant — with its biggest dining room yet — at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The same group of guys who 14 years ago brought us The Mad Duck in Clovis — dubbed the “baby duck” for its small size and early beginnings — have moved into a swanky new neighborhood.
It’s in the Copper River area, at the northwest corner of Copper and Maple avenues. Just look for the giant yellow duck on the newly constructed building.
“We’re hitting the four corners of the city,” said Jacob Urive, one of the owners and chief operating officer. “We’re really excited to be in another part of town.
Where is Mad Duck?
It joins the “baby duck” at Herndon and Willow avenues, along with the Campus Pointe location near Fresno State that opened in 2015. That location is also the site of Mad Duck’s first brewery of its own.
The northwest location at Herndon and Marks avenues opened in 2019. Mad Duck needed even more brewing capacity, so that one also has a brewing operation.
When the owners started the baby duck, they were in their 20s. They’ve grown up alongside the business, getting married and having children, and they’re now in their 40s.
“I always think of us as a scrappy band of rebels,” said Alex Costa, one of the owners. “We all had a little more hair and a little less waist when we started this.”
But now the scrappy dudes are successful enough they’ve moved on up to an upscale neighborhood.
For years, the Rite-Aid and the Field House, a sports-themed bar and restaurant, were about the only businesses in this far-flung corner of town. A Starbucks eventually joined them.
Now, new large houses and apartments are being hammered out all around them.
Mad Duck’s new corner is also home to a Granville shopping center.
In addition to the nearby NorthPointe Animal Hospital, a boba and drink place is coming to the corner. Another building will be built soon.
Food and beer
Of course, Mad Duck is known for its beer.
This location does not have a brewery on site, but its beer is on tap and for sale in cans.
Its honey pot blonde ale is a crowd favorite. And the owners are trying out a Mexican-style version of its regular El Pato Loco (Spanish for Mad Duck) that’s lighter and bubblier.
There are also wine, mocktails and cocktails, including barrel-aged drinks made by the brewing team.
As for the food, Costa said even he was surprised that Mad Duck became known for its tater tots. The crunchy tater tots pair especially well with its housemade honey mustard sauce (almost everything is made in-house, including its hummus).
“We’re always going to be inextricably intertwined with the beer pub culture,” he explained.
The menu here is the same as at the other Mad Duck locations. New this week at all locations are seasonal menus in addition to the main menu. They include caprese salad when tomatoes are in season, for example.
The restaurants are known for their eclectic but non-fussy food: the jalapeño goat cheese burger, garlic fries, steak salad, and deviled eggs.
“This is isn’t a special occasion place. This is an everyday place,” said Costa.
It’s not the type of place where you go to be seen, he jokes. (That’s a different part of north Fresno.) But it’s the type of place where you go with the kids after their sports games. The owners know because they do this with their own families.
“We’re just not quite that hip,“ Costa said. “We’re not trying to reinvent ourselves. We’re just trying to expand the flock.”
Details: Mad Duck is at 1974 E. Copper Ave. Hours are still being finalized, but it opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. 559-319-6207.
