Healthy food next to a gas station/car wash? Fresno food truck owner has new spot for that

Bethany Clough
·2 min read

A year and half after Loving Seed açai and juice bar launched its vintage food truck, it has opened a restaurant.

Loving Seed is at Fresno Elite Hand Car Wash and gas station (which many folks still know as Jack’s Car Wash) at the southwest corner of Herndon and West avenues.

It specializes in healthy foods like açai (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) bowls, smoothies and juices. It also serves avocado toast and toast with other toppings.

And there’s cold brew coffee from local roaster Q29.

Some highlights from the menu?

The “avo smash” toast for $7 with smashed avocados, local Enzo olive oil, Everything But the Bagel seasoning and a smidge of red pepper flakes for a tiny bit of heat.

The Loving Seed açai bowl for $9.50 is made with a blended açai berry base, peanut butter, granola and fresh strawberries, bananas, blueberries and more.

There are plenty of vegan options on the menu, including fresh vegan donuts on weekends.

Owner Justin Henry got the idea for the healthy food business after eating out while following his son around the state to watch him play college baseball for California State University, Northridge and now Fresno Pacific University.

The food truck (technically a vintage trailer) will stay open. Check out its Instagram page to see the farmers markets and Fresno Street Eats events it attends.

Restaurant in a car wash?

The spot is unusual in that it’s in a gas station with a convenience store and car wash. The small restaurant space with a few tables is the same building.

Neighbors may remember it as home to Mabel’s Kitchen most recently. (Mabel’s owner Susan Valiant said she closed because “things just didn’t work out” at the space and she’s looking for a new location.)

Over the years, the spot has also been Rare Earth Coffee, a boutique and a Java Jet Cafe.

Loving Seed revamped the space, adding a bar table so visitors can watch for their cars to be finished while eating. Customers can dine in or get takeout or to-go food.

“We tried to bring that vibe of the trailer here,” Henry said.

The owner originally considered selling his food on the convenience store side, but when the restaurant spot became available, he took it.

The switch from food truck to a brick-and-mortar is a common one. Breakfast and lunch spot Benaddiction, for example, started as a food truck and now has two restaurants.

For Loving Seed, the truck still does extremely well. Many customers at the restaurant are people who are already familiar with the truck. The truck is limited to events though, whereas the restaurant can make money when the owner isn’t there, Henry noted.

And the people who get a bite to eat while their cars are being washed?

“We don’t even bank on the car wash, that’s just extra,” he said.

Justin Henry, owner of Loving Seed, holds a cold brew and açai bowl from the cafe which recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West avenues in north Fresno.
Justin Henry, owner of Loving Seed, holds a cold brew and açai bowl from the cafe which recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West avenues in north Fresno.
Loving Seed, which is known for its açai bowls and cold brew coffees and teas at its food truck, recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West avenues in north Fresno.
Loving Seed, which is known for its açai bowls and cold brew coffees and teas at its food truck, recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West avenues in north Fresno.
A Loving Seed açai bowl from Loving Seed, which recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West in north Fresno.
A Loving Seed açai bowl from Loving Seed, which recently opened a fixed location inside the Fresno Elite Car Wash on Herndon and West in north Fresno.