After a four-year hiatus, Take 3 burgers in Downtown Fresno is returning by the original owners Des and Brian Washington. Photo via Facebook

After a four-year hiatus, Des Washington and her father Brian are bringing their passion back to Downtown Fresno with the reopening of their burger restaurant, Take 3 by Grumpy Burger Lady’s — a spin on both the original Take 3 and Des’ catering business.

Washington, known affectionately as the “Grumpy Burger Lady,” said the reboot has been in the works for years since the original Take 3 Burger closed its doors in 2020.

As opposed to many businesses at the time, Take 3 Burgers did not close solely due to financial reasons. Brian decided to focus more time on his construction contracting business.

“We closed at the end of 2020,” Washington said. “It wasn’t a bad year for us; we were doing a program called ‘Spreading Burger Joy.’ By the end of the year we were ready to just kind of put a pin in it. We had planned to reopen, but I think it was more tempting for my dad to stay in construction at that time.”

In the interim, Washington kept her passion for burgers alive through Grumpy Burger Lady’s — a catering and pop-up business started after the closure of Take 3 Burgers.

She said reopening the storefront at 1230 Fulton St. will finally give a home to the name she’s come to be known by in Downtown Fresno.

Washington, who jokingly said “I’m really grumpy!” said that the Instagram name was more of a joke originally. It eventually stuck.

“That was kind of where it came from,” she said. “People are like, ‘You’re not grumpy,’ and I’ll be like, ‘It’s more of a warning…you don’t want to make me grumpy.’”

 

And customers will hopefully leave their grumpiness at the door this Sunday, Dec. 15, with the restaurant’s grand opening and ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Fans of Take 3 Burgers will recognize the bright and vibrant design, featuring the artwork of a local muralist.

“We kind of had a movie scene going when we opened the business,” she said. “We have some amazing murals by Jason Esquivel — he’s currently the artist that’s working with Fresno Unified doing all of the murals on all the schools,” Washington said.

The restaurant will also feature Des’ Corner — a museum to all things burger and burger-related, showcasing her collection of burger-related memorabilia.

“We hope everybody can come out for the opening,” she said. “For me this is so much more than just a business…we ask that people support. I know the economy is bad — those that have it, have it and those that don’t, don’t — I am one of those that ‘do not,’ so every dollar that people pour into my business is being poured into my family and ultimately my mission to continue to elevate Fresno.”

Take 3 by Grumpy Burger Lady’s will be open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 to 3 p.m. Washington said that in addition to the storefront, Grumpy Burger Lady’s will continue to cater events, parties and pop-up events.