Mayor Gary Singh would like to see a Chicken N Pickle in Manteca.

No, it’s not another chicken joint, although work is starting on the city’s second Chick-Fil-A location.

And it offers more than what you can get at KFC, El Pollo Loco, or Raising Cane’s in Manteca, given they also serve burgers and salads in addition to rotisserie chicken as in what made Costco the go to quick meal fixings place.

It weds having a slew of pickleball courts with pub-style dining.

Chicken N Pickle is not like a Dave & Buster’s which, when all is said and done, is an adult version of a Chuck E. Cheese with pub style grub.

It dovetails into the tune of experience one might get playing a softball game, and then hitting a restaurant just like people do at BLD when they come from throughout the region to play in leagues or tournaments.

Ditto for the Loma Brewery, now under construction in the FEZ at Daniels Street and Milo Candini Drive that will include an outdoor area for “lawn games.” 

Chicken N Pickle is active dining option, if there is such a genre label.

As such, it would fit right in with Manteca’s family entertainment zone, currently bookended by Great Wolf Resort indoor water park and the Big League Dreams sports complex.

To be clear, there is no indication Chicken N Pickle has Manteca on its radar.

But what the City of Manteca is pursuing is right up their alley.

Strike that. What Manteca offers might just be too hard to resist.

The FEZ — the city’s shorthand for 100 or so acres they own that is zoned and partially developed with the intent to snare venues in the categories of recreational sports, family entertainment, and dining — is hitting all the right marks.

It is in a city that offers sustained growth that, based on housing activity in 2024, is pushing it to the 100,000 population mark and beyond by 2027.

A snapshot of the fastest growing region of the city puts those new home buyers with median household incomes in excess of $120,000.

The median household income for the entire city has now surpassed the $90,000 mark.

Manteca is figuratively joined at the hip with Lathrop, the third fastest growing city percentage wise in California, with a population zooming past 40,000.

That FEZ location almost abuts the city limits, putting literally just outside Lathrop’s back door.

Even more important, the FEZ is at the center of the Tracy, Stockton, and Modesto triangle.

That means there are 600,000 plus consumers within a 15 to 20 minute drive of the Manteca location.

It has a gigantic billboard along the 120 Bypass in the form of the 500-room Great Wolf Resort indoor waterpark, that largest hotel between Redding and Bakersfield.

Keep in mind, if you will, that the city can’t wave a magic wand to get the likes of Chicken N Pickle to locate in Manteca.

But with their concentrated effort with the FEZ, putting major infrastructure in place to make it developable, and securing two major anchors via BLD and Great Wolf added with the solid sustain growth of the city and the region, municipal leaders over the years have well-positioned Manteca.

In short, firms are looking at Manteca for retail and dining investments.

Having a dedicated viable FEZ in a strategic regional marketing location makes it probable that Manteca will snare more non-cookie cutter concerns such at Bass Pro, Great Wolf, and BLD.

Rest assured, Singh, other elected leaders, and key city staff are making the pitch.

And the city is making sure they aren’t leaving anything to chance, giving the farm away, or re-inventing the wheel.

It is why they took a little trip this month to places like Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and Grand Prairie, Texas, to see similar FEZ-type venues.

More importantly, they talked with city staff that worked with the venues to get them to locate in their communities as well as to get advice on how to do it right.

Singh said one big thing they learned was Manteca doesn’t have to give anything away, per se, to get the type of entertainment/dining they want to see at the FEZ.

The big reason is Great Wolf.

It literally put Manteca on the map.

And Manteca has gone a step further by making sure there is a willing land developer ready to deal with plenty of space for endeavors that would dovetail in the market Great Wolf targets its massive marketing budget at.

Actually, Manteca has gone one step further. It is the land developer.

Nothing, as former Mayor Willie Weatherford in regards to BLD, and former Mayor Steve DeBrum in regards to Great Wolf can tell you, happens overnight.

And you might get the attention of private sector players that try to squeeze local cities eager to land retail and such.

Manteca — based on how their deals with Great Wolf, BLD, Bass Pro, Costco, and Living Spaces were structured — has refrained so far from putting the city’s general fund at risk.

The bottom line is Manteca’s current city leadership will take the advice of what they learned during their road trips and continue with the general overall strategies of  their predecessors.

It means Manteca isn’t going to panic.

And why should Manteca?

All those houses being built that a lot of people moan and groan about is arguably the final ingredient that will get the FEZ rolling.

Eventually, the economic potential that can be tapped into will become too promising to resist.

By not tossing out excessive incentives, the FEZ won’t be flooded with the run-of-the-mill venues.

As for naysayers, make no mistake about it.

The FEZ is already a success.

You can count on two fingers how many California cities snared a Great Wolf resort.

Add another finger and you’ve counted all of the BLD locations.

And now you can add Loma Brewing to the scorecard.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com