Fresno is a great place for finding unique items for your home or lifestyle. There's a great spirit of localism in the Central Valley, and its spurred along by entrepreneurs like Marielle Parrish who owns Happy House over on Palm and Bullard. 

Happy House is a lifestyle store dedicated to helping Central Valley residents great a stylish and happy home. What makes Happy House unique is her commitment to supporting local artisans and entrepreneurs, whose products and goods she sells in her store. It's a great way for Fresnans to explore local versions of the products they buy every day, and support businesses in their community rather than big corporations. 

Marielle takes this a step further though, because it's more than just a product. She understands that each local business is owned by someone in our community, with a family and story just as unique and worthy of sharing as hers. For each piece or product she sells in her store, she likes to get to know the people who make it, and share that with her customers. It creates a far more intimate shopping experience when you not only are supporting your neighbors, but know the story behind their business. 

This is the character that defines her store. The Happy House brand is one that truly cares about promoting everything Fresno, from the creatives and artisans to the residents who are purchasing various items for their home. 

Over the last few weeks, she has been using Instagram to advertise her self-care and Mother's Day bundles. Looking through the catalog of options on the bundles, you can get an idea of the types of local items she sells in her store. This includes candles, bath products, locally produced snacks and treats like Pop's Caramels, scrunchies, eye pillows, water bottles, etc. It's a great option for quality self-care or to show some love and appreciation on Mother's Day.

There's much more than this though as Happy House also has dinnerware, kitchen items, jewelry, and more! 

Right now, you can continue to support Happy House through her Instagram page. They are currently running contactless delivery most days of the week. Just send a DM, email, or phone call her way and let her know your order. 

Stay in the loop as well because soon Happy House will be launching a website with some pretty amazing features about life in Fresno! 

Happy House is a great way to support local businesses. Not only is the store native to Fresno, but all the products she sells in her store come from Valley businesses as well. There's hardly a better way to help the community! 

Fresno may not be the place place you'd think of as a "start up hub" as that designation is usually reserved for Silicon Valley or some other place with a similar environment. That's all changing though. There's a group of people who see Fresno as having tremendous potential for innovation, and that group is called The Pi Shop. 

Modeled after The Hot House in San Luis Obispo, The Pi Shop is a product and strategy incubator for start ups and entrepreneurs. Through their lab in Downtown Fresno, entrepreneurs can get access to a myriad of resources from collaboration spaces, machinery like 3D printers, webinars and tutorials, as well as access to valuable resources such as investors, attorneys, accountants, and more.! 

In addition to an amazing suite of support, The Pi Shop is directly involved in helping entrepreneurs and start ups develop and prototype their product or service. Whether it's helping them craft a clear business plan, create physical prototypes of their product, or come up with ideas for branding, The Pi Shop is there to help. 

It's not just start ups that The Pi Shop is dedicated to assisting with these services though. Established companies can benefit as well from everything they offer. 

Businesses can get access to this amazing resource by applying to become a member. They offer a variety of memberships that provide levels of access to all their services and amenities including: 

• shared workspaces 
• conference rooms 
• a full kitchen 
• 3D printers 
• welders 
• metal workers 
• trainings 
• advisory groups 
• funding opportunities 
• design & engineering assistance 

This incubator lab is the first of its kind in Fresno. Never before have businesses had such a dedicated center of support. Their goal is to help transform Fresno into a forward-thinking business environment. With their help, Fresno could soon become a hub for start ups! 

Interested in learning more about how The Pi Shop can help you? You can visit their website and see all the different things they offer for their members and even see the different membership options.  You can also check them out on Instagram. 

If you're thinking of starting up a business or selling a new product and want to find out how you can get amazing support as you develop and execute your plan, then you really need to get involved with what The Pi Shop is doing. 

Their mission is to transform the ability of Valley residents to succeed in starting up new businesses by giving them world-class resources, and turn Fresno into a true "start up hub".

The benefits for the Fresno area economically and socially will continue to grow as they do. 

Right now, they are helping the community by creating face shields for coronavirus protection to distribute to first responders, front line workers, and health care workers. You can donate on their website and help them support these workers in the Fresno community. 

Ever wished you could get high quality meat delivered to your doorstep and support a local business at the same time? Lucky for all of us, we live in the agricultural capital of the world, and that includes a large amount of ranches and wholesalers ready to provide us with good meat. 

You've heard of Butcher Box and US Wellness Meats, but have you heard of Valley Protein Fresno? If you haven't, you need to check them out.

Valley Protein started back in 2010 and since then has been known for cooking, marinating, and processing meat of all kinds to supply to local grocery stores and restaurants. Now, they've started a meat delivery service.

With Valley Protein, you can get amazing meat delivered right to your house that comes from their plant and suppliers right here in the Central Valley. Even the deliveries are local, no large third party logistics networks or companies. They hand deliver everything you order.

Yes, you can now enjoy the benefits of locally raised meat right in your own home without ever going to the store to get it! 

Their menu is phenomenal. You'll find high quality Ribeye, filet mignon, NY steak, chicken, tri-tip, brisket, and more- all at great prices! You can create your own delivery box, order and pay all on their site. 

If you want to see just how high quality it is, check out 1855 Black Angus Prime Beef, or just take a look at the pictures on their website or social media. It's basically Flemings or Ruth's Chris quality steak at a fraction of the price. 

Before you know it you'll have smoked brisket or some nice pan seared ribeye on your plate. 

Through their home delivery service, Valley Protein has served 164 families since starting on April 2nd. They've received numerous shout outs and thank you's on social media from their satisfied customers. With the quality of meat they provide it's no wonder!

We all want to support local businesses, so how about we buy our food locally too? We live in such an amazing area of the world when it comes to food. It's pretty easy to notice the produce, but now we can notice the meat our local farmers and ranchers can supply for us through great providers like Valley Protein. 

If you're looking to increase the quality of your food, or start shopping and supporting local businesses, then you should go to Valley Protein Fresno and place your order today!

Lots of stories are going around about local businesses and individuals helping their neighbors and our front line workers. Old Town Cafe joined in last week with their Here 4U Hero project. 

With Here 4U Hero, they are helping out all the essential workers in our community by providing them with meals. 

Anyone in the Central Valley can help by purchasing a meal that will be given to local first responders, health care providers, and other essential workers in our community. 

Many of them are going through stressful times as well as they put themselves on the front lines during this pandemic. 

This is a great way to say thank you and show your support! 

To order a Here 4U Hero meal, go visit oldtownclovis.net

As a native Fresnan, most of my life has been spent avoiding downtown. Growing up, there was never anything down there to spend time doing unless you had professional business to take care of or were going to a Grizzlies game. That's all changed in the last few years though. The city has done an amazing job revitalizing the area, and there have been new shops, attractions, restaurants, and places to hang out and live that have gone up in the last few years.

One such place is the Tioga Sequoia Beer Garden.

Located right across from Chukchansi Park in what is coming to be known as "Brewery District", the Beer Garden is a great place to hang out, enjoy locally crafted beer and eat from the local food trucks. 

Open from 12-7 PM daily, you can enjoy lunch or dinner at a food truck and one of their many on-tap beers. On the weekends you'll find it buzzing, as its outdoor seating area is brought to life with live music and large crowds. Grizzlies games draw quite a crowd too, as do many of their yearly events such as FresYes Fest. 

It's a great ambience any time, with a great offering of food and drink that any crowd can enjoy. 

Started back in 2007, Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company is one of the Central Valley's most prominent breweries of craft beer. Their mission is to serve the Fresno area with their amazing brews, and also bring awareness to environmental preservation, particularly those related to our local forests and National Parks. 

The brewery has devoted itself to a number of projects and causes related to this cause, such as Yosemite Facelift, an annual volunteer-led clean up of Yosemite National Park following its busy season. Another is the 1% For the Planet, through which Tioga-Sequoia contributes 1% of its annual sales to environmental causes. With the beauty the nature around us holds, it's a great mission to get behind. So local residents can know each sip of their Half Dome or General Sherman IPA is going towards preserving the beautiful mountains and forests we all love. 

While you currently can't hang out at the Beer Garden, you can get their delicious beers through delivery or curbside pickup to enjoy at home. The food trucks are still on their lot as well if you want to pick up something to eat too! 

If you haven't tried their beer before, they have an excellent offering. The Half Dome, General Sherman IPA, and Valley Haze IPA are pure classics. They now have available a General Sherman IPA Triple Dry Hopped as well! Give it a try! 

To find out more information, or to order some beer for yourself, go to their website at store.tiogasequoia.com or visit their Instagram or Facebook. 

Everyone in the Central Valley has a pool. With our weather here, it's pretty much essential. No one really likes taking care of their pool though. The chemicals are confusing and sometimes it can just be a chore. That makes your pool maintenance service one of the most home services around. 

Since your swimming pool is such an important feature of your home, you want to make sure the maintenance, cleaning, or repairs are done well.

That's why you should check out Aqua Group. Started and owned by local Clovis resident Brett Lackey, Aqua Group provides full service pool care to keep your pool clean and ready for use! 

This full service pool maintenance includes all the elements of regular and responsible pool upkeep in addition to assistance with non-routine pool needs including:

• balancing the chemicals
• sweeping
• brushing
• emptying out your baskets
• cleaning the filter
• pool repairs
• tile cleaning
• green cleaning

Brett's goal is to help homeowners in the area by providing them with reliable service both in the finished product and customer experience. He accomplishes this by keeping their pool in top shape through weekly maintenance, while also giving his clients reassurance that any problems that do come up will get taken care of quickly.

If you're looking for a pool guy that not only does a good job, but is reliable, timely, and friendly, then Aqua Group is the way to go. 

To find out more, you can find them online at https://www.aquagroupfresno.com/ on social media, either on Facebook or Instagram, or call (559) 433-7220.

To help out local residents, the Fresno Rescue Mission partnered up with The Central California  Food Bank and Foster Farms to put on The Great Chicken Giveaway! 

With the social restrictions and economic turbulence, many Americans have found themselves out of work. The Rescue Mission and Food Bank teamed up to provide local residents with food. 

This food distribution gave each car in the drive thru a box of frozen chickens, as well as fresh produce, water, and other dry goods. 

Volunteers came from all over Fresno to help out, including members of River Valley Church in North Fresno. 

​How do you #support559? 

​Since a lot of businesses were unable to benefit from the PPP loans under the last coronavirus relief bill, local coffee chain Kuppa Joy has stepped up! 

Known for selling the popular Crave Cookies in their shops, they have announced that 50% of their sales of Crave this week will go to support local businesses that are struggling due to the coronavirus social restrictions. 

Kuppa Joy's generosity and kindness is sure to make a positive impact on the businesses in our community. 

What a great way to help out local businesses! 

How do you #support559?

Crystal Kelly and her business, Capture Life Events Photography have made a great impact on the community during these tough times by organizing an Easter donation drive.

Since her photography studio is unable to book sessions as normal, she allowed people to book Easter "sessions" where $20 was donated to buy meals from local restaurants which were then delivered to health care workers at Community Medical Centers. 

So far they have donated 171 meals to our local heroes and community support service providers! 

Not only did it help out those courageously serving on the frontlines of the Coronavirus fight, it also helped support local restaurants Namikaze and Luna Pizzeria Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria. 

It's great to see such generosity and support for our local community! 

How do you #support559? 

Let us know so we can share positive stories of local residents spreading love and service to our neighbors during this time! 

There's nothing quite like good Italian food. Pasta and pizza alone allow for so much variety that you could probably eat Italian food the rest of your life and never get sick of it. With its popularity, it seems there's been a surge in locally owned Italian restaurants. All Italian food is good, but you'll only find the merging of high quality, authentic food with a sophisticated ambience in places like The Annex Kitchen in Fresno. 

Owned by Jimmy Pardini, The Annex has brought Fresno a high class experience with Italian cuisine. Jimmy's expertise in the restaurant business comes from both his family's background in catering and restaurants, but also his experience working as a chef in Los Angeles. This has allowed him to create a place with not only great food but also top of the line hospitality and a classy dining experience. 

Still, Jimmy's passion lies in creating excellent dishes, which you can see showcased on their Instagram page @annexkitchenfresno. 

At The Annex, you'll find unique dishes developed in-house by Jimmy and his kitchen staff. Their dishes go beyond your traditional Italian spaghetti and meatballs to incorporate some unique takes you won't find other places. Some examples are their Tagliolini with thin ribbon noodles, spicy tomato sauce, shrimp, crab, arugula and their appetizer Burrata with Fava Beans that has english peas, smoked prosciutto, herbs, toast. Of course, they do have the classics like Chicken Parm and Spaghetti with Meatballs as well. 

The most significant factor with The Annex is the quality of ingredients they source. Any dish you order there is fresh and prepared with care. It feels truly authentic all the way around. 

With the effects of the Coronavirus shutting down dine-in traffic, The Annex is still offering take out during dinner hours. The take-out menu is available through their website. 

You can also enjoy the Annex at home in a different way though, through their new market The Annex Alimentari. In the market, they sell basic home items as well as ingredients they use in-house such as salad dressings, pasta, sauces, and more. The best part is that you don't have to risk exposure to anything because you can call or order online, and the items are bagged for you and delivered curbside!