Pictured from left to right: Partners Ashe Billon, Tina Nanez, Harv Billon, Maddox Nanez Sahota (Tina & Mendra’s son), and Mendra Singh Sahota
A Longtime Dream Becomes a Bay Area Smashburger Sensation
Mendra Singh Sahota has always dreamed of burgers. He started in the food and beverage industry in his twenties, first as a bartender and then working his way into fine dining restaurants. When the opportunity to manage his first restaurant materialized in San Ramon, he jumped at the chance. “I never should have done that,” Mendra reflects. “It was an Italian place that I [unsuccessfully] tried to convince the landlord to make into a burger joint.” That was 15 years ago.
After the birth of his son, Mendra moved into the distribution space to have more time with his growing family. But he kept thinking about burgers. Years later, the stay-at-home orders during the pandemic provided Mendra with the time to focus on what he was most passionate about. He poured himself into researching and developing burger recipes–paying specific attention to the smashburger craze hitting Los Angeles at the time.
In early 2022, Mendra’s cousin, Harv Singh Billon, was helping launch and manage the West Oakland Farmer’s Market, and was looking for food vendors to serve the market. He thought that Mendra’s simple and delicious menu would be an instant hit with families and local residents visiting the market, and he was right. With a focus on high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, Mendra’s popup, Fast Times Burgers, quickly attracted a loyal following. In May 2024, the San Francisco Chronicle ranked Fast Times among the top 3 smashburger destinations in the Bay Area out of 30 contenders. (And was named again this year by the publication as one of the best burgers in the Bay.)
From Pop-Up to Permanent: Securing the Funding to Grow
With this momentum, Mendra set his sights on building his team and expanding to a permanent home. He incorporated the business from a sole proprietorship to an LLC in collaboration with Harv as well as Ashe Billon, who brought business finance and operations prowess to the team as controller, and Tina Nanez, a powerful force in HR and compliance for the business and in-house food critic. Around this time, Harv was also heavily involved in developing a formerly vacant space at the corner of 18th St and Peralta in West Oakland into a community food hall and event space, which seemed like the perfect home for their fast-casual concept.
But in order to build out the new space, the Fast Times Burgers team needed additional funding. They worked with Adrian Gomez Zavala, VP-Relationship Manager at Main Street Launch, to secure $200,000 to open their first brick-and-mortar location. “My credit wasn’t the greatest,” Mendra recalls. “I had to really work on that. But Adrian was great—so responsive and supportive.” The loan allowed them to invest in critical equipment, cover staffing needs, and maintain a financial cushion through their early operating months.
The Family Business Launches in West Oakland’s New Community Hub
In March 2025, Fast Times Burgers officially opened at the new Prescott Market Food Hall. The restaurant features a thoughtfully curated menu including 100% grass-fed beef smash burgers, duck-fat fries, Straus Family Creamery soft serve and milkshakes, and a rotating selection of craft beer and wine. The loan closed in February 2025, just one month before opening day—perfect timing for what turned out to be an overwhelming customer response. “It’s beyond expectations that it’s been so busy. We went through a lot to get here,” Mendra says.
Fast Times Burgers a longtime dream realized and a powerful example of what happens when entrepreneurial determination, community development, and supportive access to capital come together. With the loan, Mendra and his team have built out a bustling, award-winning burger joint that customers from the neighborhood and all over the Bay Area flock to. Be sure to enjoy the festive atmosphere before an Oakland Ballers game or during one of the many community events that the Prescott Market team organizes to activate this much loved block in West Oakland.