Inside Look is a Fresno Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.
The story behind a new restaurant and bakery in the Fresno-Clovis area is a very California one.
An engineer with a master’s degree in physics, tired of commuting to his defense industry job in the Bay Area, decided to make a drastic change. He opened a Rustika Cafe & Bakery in Clovis.
The eatery is a melting pot of multiculturalism. It was started by a woman from Mexico of Jewish-European descent, and has a menu with Mexican and Italian food and other European influences. Its owner’s background is Indian.
And there’s cake. Lots of cake.
Rustika opened Nov. 25 at Herndon and Willow avenues — right on the border between the two communities — in the Target shopping center. It’s in the spot of the The Brunch Bar restaurant that closed earlier this year.
Rustika’s owner, Navdip Singh, kept many of the chandeliers, pink neon and other decor inside the business. He opened the first California Rustika location in partnership with the Texas-based company, which has four locations in the Houston area.
Rustika Cafe & Bakery has opened its first location in California at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis.
Rustika’s menu
“We have food from all over the world,” Singh said.
The first thing customers see when they walk in are the pastry cases. They’re stocked with whole tiramisu cakes and many others made with Italian recipes and Italian buttercream frosting. There are also giant slices of rainbow cake and German chocolate cake. All kinds of croissants and cookies line the shelves, including alfajores (South American sandwich cookies).
Rustika also sells custom cakes, including wedding cakes, eggless and gluten-friendly cakes. They range from 6-inch cakes for $40 to full sheet cakes serving 80 people in premium flavors for $285.
Rustika is a breakfast and lunch place, too.
It has a full menu with omelets, crepes, sandwiches, salads, tacos and more.
The menu’s multicultural influence started with Rustika’s founder, Francis Reznick. She’s from Mexico and of Jewish European descent, now living in the U.S.
Her son, Marco Reznick, in town to train employees, explained how generations of his family have lived all over the world and collected recipes along the way.
“Our family is from Austria, Russia, Poland and France,” he said. “We have generational recipes pulled from my great grandparents. She gets a lot of her inspiration from her travels as well.”
That’s why you’ll find a huge variety on the menu, including eggs with lox, and French toast made with challah bread. There are Mexican favorites, such as chilaquiles, and chorizo with potatoes. There are also empanadas — baked not fried — in flavors such as chicken mole, beef, bacon and egg, and dessert flavors.
Rustika also sells beer, wine, mimosas, and has a full coffee menu made with Italian espresso.
For now, Singh is not planning to add any Indian food to the menu. Plenty of other restaurants in town do that quite well, he said.
The interior of the new Rustika Cafe & Bakery has opened its first location in California at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis.
Why Clovis?
Singh’s story sounds like the script of a Hallmark movie, except he’d already fallen in love with his wife at the beginning. They have an 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. They live in Fresno because that’s where their family is and they want their kids to grow up in more of a small town atmosphere.
Singh was spending three days a week in San Jose working at a defense company.
But he missed his kids and knew he wanted to do something different. His cousin had a successful bakery in the Bay Area, so he tried working there for a few months.
He loved it. He delighted in seeing the smiles on customers’ faces. He knew he had to be in the hospitality field.
So he set about finding a business of his own to run. After much searching, he connected with the people at Rustika and both decided they would be a good fit for each other.
Running a bakery and restaurant has its own set of stresses, but so many rewards, Singh said.
“If you’re cooking with love and affection,” he said, “you get the same love back.”
Details: Rustika is at 785 W. Herndon Ave., suite 500. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. 559-940-7272.
Rustika Cafe & Bakery owner Navdip Singh shows off two of the many cakes available at the new bakery and restaurant located at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis.
Tall slices of rainbow-colored cake sit in the case at Rustika Cafe & Bakery located at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis.
Slices of flourless chocolate cake sit in the case at Rustika Cafe & Bakery, a new bakery and cafe at Herndon and Willow avenues.
A key lime tart is seen in the case at Rustika Cafe & Bakery, a new bakery and cafe offering a mix of breakfast and lunch offerings,including decadent pastries, cakes and pancakes, along with sandwiches, empanadas and more.
Roses hang from the ceiling as decor at Rustika Cafe & Bakery, which has opened its first location in California at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis. The new bakery and cafe offers a mix of breakfast and lunch offerings including decadent pastries, cakes and breakfast, along with sandwiches, empanadas and more, plus coffee drinks.