By Ray Rogers
Tucked away on a side street beyond the railroad station in East Hampton, Fresno, with its speakeasy-meets-Cheers vibe, is the kind of joint that feels like a secret a trusted friend has let you in on. “We’ve always been a destination from being in a fringey area—you don’t just walk past it and stumble in,” says Michael Nolan, who started the restaurant with business partner David Loewenberg in 2004 and took over sole ownership this past year.
To mark its 20th anniversary, and his new role, Nolan gave the place a glamorous overhaul. But true to form, it’s been done in an understated way that, he says, when some regulars will walk in, they’ll know something is different but can’t quite tell just what at first—or how dramatic the change is—“because it has the same heart and soul.”
Take a closer look. The main dining room is now enveloped in a rich shade of charcoal gray, Farrow & Ball’s Hopper Head—”It’s a sexy color,” assesses Nolan—with a galaxy of his partner Helen Gifford’s trademark HelenBilt blown-glass Clear Urchin pendant lights (12 in total) dotting the ceiling, adding visual allure. Another five of her hanging light fixtures (glass balls with champagne-bubble-like circles) are strewn above the bar and five more adorn the spacious outdoor patio.
“Taking full ownership and with the 20th anniversary, I’ve been able to act on impulse more and take risks,” says Nolan, seated at the front bar, sipping a Mayan Lemonade, a house-made nonalcoholic refresher with fresh lime and ginger inspired by his many trips to Tulum. He had a long-held vision for what Fresno might look like, inspired by the 10th Street Lounge, an old hot spot in New York City’s East Village. “The very back room there had all these pin lights at different heights and it just looked so cool, like an installation. And when I met Helen, she had these lights that are urchins but they also look like stars. I said, ‘Let’s not do two lights; let’s do one big installation.’ They float like a constellation.”
The effect is quietly dazzling. As is the menu, bursting with fresh produce and seafood sourced from area vendors such as Balsam Farms in Amagansett, Marilee Foster Farm in Sagaponack, and Gosman’s Fish Market in Montauk. “They text every week and tell us what they have coming in, and we plan specials around that,” he says. Famed for its burgers and fan favorites like Buffalo cauliflower off its classic American-with-a-twist menu, Fresno specializes in elevated takes on comfort staples. Healthy options abound, including a grilled local maitake mushroom entree. “It’s comfortable and casual,” says Nolan of the ambience here. “There are no tablecloths but it’s still sharp.” And now, even sharper.
It’s a family-style operation where Nolan savors “building people up—the dishwashers are now salad guys; the salad guys are now chefs.” Much like how he worked his way up through the ranks himself—long before graduating from Cornell University’s restaurant and hospitality school, he started washing dishes at age 12 in the kitchen his father ran, J.G. Melon in Bridgehampton, where Almond is now. The biz was in the blood for this self-described “local boy who graduated Pierson High,” whose current house is a mile away from his childhood home in Sag Harbor. “Long ago, my grandparents owned a little restaurant in Sag Harbor, Cozy Corner, on the corner of Main Street and Washington—I still have some of the commercial pots and pans from there.” fresnorestaurant.com