Teriyaki Time brings fast-casual dining to Shaw and Clovis corridor

Teriyaki Time added another fast-casual option to the southwest corner of Shaw Avenue at Clovis Avenue, bringing teriyaki and other quick-service dishes into one of Clovis’ busiest commercial strips. The opening lands in a corridor the City of Clovis has identified as a two-and-a-half-mile focus area for long-term planning and reinvestment, a stretch the city says connects CSU Fresno and older west-side neighborhoods with Loma Vista on the east side of the city.

The concept is not new to the operator. Mai Thao had run Teriyaki Time for more than 10 years as a pop-up, food tent and food trailer for special events before moving into a fixed restaurant. The menu includes Chicken Teriyaki with noodles and fresh vegetables, a signal that the business is aiming for a fast-casual crowd that wants a quick lunch or dinner rather than a long sit-down meal.

That positioning fits the Shaw Avenue corridor, where restaurant operators are betting on steady traffic from shoppers, commuters and nearby neighborhoods. The Shaw Avenue Specific Plan describes the street as having regional significance in the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan area, which helps explain why the area keeps drawing new food concepts. For businesses, the appeal is obvious: Shaw functions as a major east-west connector in Clovis, and a strong location there can capture both local residents and pass-through traffic.

The competition is real, though. The Fresno Bee reported in September 2024 that six new restaurants were opening within about a one-mile stretch along Shaw Avenue in Clovis, a cluster that included everything from tacos to Indian pizzas to Vietnamese sandwiches. Teriyaki Time is entering that mix as another choice for diners, not as a stand-alone novelty but as part of a larger wave of restaurant growth along the corridor.

The broader retail setting adds to that momentum. Sierra Vista Mall, at 1050 Shaw Avenue, is a 78-acre regional shopping center with four anchors and more than 85 retail and restaurant spaces, giving the surrounding strip a dense customer base and a steady flow of potential diners. Teriyaki Time’s arrival shows that the Shaw and Clovis corridor remains a place where operators still see room to grow, even as the area becomes more crowded with fast-casual competition.