14 restaurant openings you may have missed in Fresno area: From ramen to taco shops
Fresno’s restaurant scene is booming.
From little taquerias to a big franchise from Texas, a swarm of restaurants have opened in recent months. Some made a splash on social media and got their own stories on the pages of The Bee.
Others opened quietly.
Since there are so many newbies opening lately, we thought we’d put a bunch of restaurant openings in one place, especially the ones readers may have missed.
Cowboy Chicken
Yes, this one seemed to take forever to open, its sign up for more than a year before opening in Fig Garden Village. But Cowboy Chicken opened last month, between Paper Source and Kebab Express.
It’s a locally owned franchise of a company based in Texas. It’s just the third Cowboy Chicken in California. The rest are in Texas or parts east.
It’s all about the chicken here. The first thing you see when you walk in is the whole chickens cooking in a rotisserie with a fire made from burning wood, not gas.
The most basic menu options are a plate of chicken (with three sizes of chicken servings) and two sides. If you don’t know what to get, try the half chicken with the ranchero beans (pinto beans with jalapeños) and twice-baked “potaters.” That’s potatoes baked twice and mixed with shredded cheese, and sour cream for a casserole-like consistency.
Cowboy Chicken also has sandwiches (one topped with chicken cracklings, which is fried chicken skin), salads, drumsticks and enchiladas.
“Our enchiladas are a big hit,” said owner Kevin Roche of the dish, made with corn tortillas and a sour cream-tomatillo sauce.
The cobblers for dessert are popular, too. Peach cobbler is always on the menu, along with apple cobbler in the winter months. You can buy individual size, or Texas size.
“It’s a pound of cobbler, literally,” said Manny Souza, director of operations.
Details: Cowboy Chicken is at 5050 N. Palm Ave. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. (559) 244-0142.
Old Town Cafe
At Pollasky Avenue and Fourth Street, you may remember this restaurant in a prime spot in Old Town Clovis as the former Corner Cafe or Smoke N Spurs.
It’s now Old Town Cafe and it looks completely different. The railing that led customers to the order-at-the-counter set up is gone.
Now it’s a full-service sit down restaurant with cheery yellow walls. It’s bigger too, after knocking out a wall to expand the dining room.
It’s now owned by Jesse Mendoza and his wife, Leticia, who also own Salsa’s Cantina in Old Town.
Old Town Cafe opened in September selling breakfast and lunch and just started offering dinner.
“It’s a simple breakfast with all the usuals,” Jesse Mendoza said of the menu.
That includes eggs, omelets, Mexican breakfasts like chilaquiles, pancakes and more. Mendoza recommends the eggs Benedict, and French toast, made with challah bread from Max’s.
The restaurant has a full coffee bar, meaning it serves lattes and other espresso-based drinks with coffee from California-based Groundwork Coffee. There are also mimosas.
The lunch and dinner menu are essentially the same, with a few extra specials in the evening.
The menu includes burgers, soup, smoked tri-tip sandwiches and salads. The burger and the clam chowder, topped with bacon, are particularly popular, Mendoza said.
Most items are between $10 and $12.
Details: Old Town Cafe is at 361 Pollasky St. The restaurant is still figuring out its hours, but opens at 7 a.m. daily for breakfast and stays open for dinner. (559) 326-0144.
Maria’s Tacos
Maria’s Tacos was a taco truck in southeast Fresno that got so popular it moved into a sit-down restaurant across the street a few months ago.
It’s now at the northwest corner of Clovis Avenue and Kings Canyon Road, in the same shopping center as Walgreens.
Open for lunch and dinner, it’s got all the basics: tacos, burritos, tortas, etc. Meat choices include the typical options, but also buche (beef stomach), cabeza (beef cheeks), lengua (beef tongue), and tripas (intestines). There’s also a vegetarian option that includes zucchini, onions, tomato, cilantro and other grilled veggies.
The restaurant has a big condiment bar that allows diners to customize their food with cilantro, cabbage, tomatoes and sauces. They can also help themselves from a pot of beans, grilled onions and peppers.
Carne fries are also on the menu, topped with asada meat, adobada pork or chicken.
Burgers, hot dogs and corn dogs are on the menu, too.
It’s an order-at-the counter type of place, with customers getting their food from a pick-up window inside the restaurant. It has a small patio and is open late.
Details: Maria’s is at 660 S. Clovis Ave. It’s open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and for dinner from 4 p.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays. It’s open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. (559) 319-8572.
Smuggler’s/Mexico Lindo
If you’ve been around Fresno for a few decades, you may remember Smuggler’s when it was hopping in the 1970s. At 3787 N. Blackstone Ave., near Dakota Avenue and next to a hotel, the business has reopened in recent weeks.
It’s now dubbed Smuggler’s Restaurant & Sports Lounge with Mexico Lindo inside. It’s keeping the Smuggler’s name because people know it, but the bar, restaurant and banquet room are technically Mexico Lindo now. Owner Maria Razo got her start selling tacos under that name.
Now you can get a lunchtime Mexican buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, with dishes like chile verde, chile rellenos, and birria, a spicy stew.
You can also order off the menu for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It features a mix of Mexican and American food, including burgers, asada fries and $1 tacos on Tuesdays.
There’s also a bar, with double decker VIP rooms – one sunken, one upstairs – with couches.
Mexico Lindo has been hosting events on weekends, usually Mexican music on Fridays. It’s becoming a home for communities that don’t have a regular place for events, like black comedy shows, drag shows and salsa nights, she said.
Details: Mexico Lindo is 3787 N. Blackstone Ave. It’s open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. (559) 708-4848.
Panda City
Panda City Hot Pot & Grill Buffet in Clovis has a lot going on: It’s a hot pot restaurant, Korean barbecue and buffet all rolled into one. This is the restaurant at Shaw and Peach avenues, in the Shaw Village shopping center in same center as dd’s DISCOUNTS.
Hot pot is a Chinese cuisine, essentially bowls of soup kept warm by a heat source built into the table. You can get a large bowl to share with the table, or personal-sized ones.
There’s a buffet where people get sides like rice, but also veggies, meat and seafood that customers can take to their hot pot to cook in the broth.
One different aspect of this place is their broths. You can choose from several: spicy Szechuan, Thai hot and sour, an Indian-style curry inspired broth, Japanese miso, Korean kimchi and more.
You can also get Korean barbecue. This is the cuisine where customers cook their meat, seafood and veggies themselves at a grill in their tables.
You can do the hot pot or the Korean grill individually or pay more to do both. Prices start at $15.95 for adults for lunch and go up to $26.95 for both at dinner. Prices also vary by age, with discounts for seniors and kids.
Details: Panda City is at 458 W. Shaw Ave. (559) 324-8888. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.
Hacienda Tequila’s
Although not technically a newbie, Hacienda Tequila’s has reopened in Clovis after a five-month closure. The popular Mexican restaurant’s lease ended at its old location and it moved two doors down the street, into the former QN4U BBQ House on Clovis Avenue.
What’s different about the new place: There’s beer on tap and the restaurant is three times as big. There are a few new employees to deal with the bigger crowds. And owner Carlos Patiño put a lot of work into redoing the space.
What’s the same: The chef and food — the carne asada and chicken poblano are popular — and the margaritas made with top tequilas. They also brought over the wooden booths with the restaurant’s name carved into them and the brightly painted chairs with images like a smiling sun from the old location.
In general, the restaurant has the same vibe as before.
“It’s my lucky colors — blue, red and brown,” Patiño said.
Details: Hacienda Tequila’s is at 1414 Clovis Ave. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. (559) 325-2505.
Brothers Ramen
This ramen restaurant opened last month at Blackstone and Nees avenues, across the street from Chick-fil-A.
Brothers Ramen serves ramen, the Japanese soup with wavy noodles. You’ll also find rice bowls, salads and bao, a fluffy steamed bun with your choice of protein inside.
Karaage, a sort of Japanese fried chicken, is also on the menu.
This is an order-at-the-counter casual type of place and nothing on the menu is over $11.50.
Details: The restaurant is at 132 W. Nees Ave. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. (559) 554-9486.
The Healthy Hub
This place is something different for Fresno: It’s a cafe with a healthy vibe that sells just drinks — but oh so many of them.
The Healthy Hub opened last spring, at First Street and Barstow Avenue, in the same center as Kristina’s Natural Ranch Market.
At its most basic, this place serves tea and shakes.
The shakes are under 200 calories. There’s no ice cream in them, but they’re made instead with ice and flavored protein powder.
There’s a big ol’ list of flavors like chocolate and caramel macchiato. One customer favorite? Cinnamon toast. Yes, it’s got the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal on top.
Some flavors come with sugar-free drizzles like caramel. You can also get add-ons like fiber and probiotics.
As for the teas, sugar substitute stevia gives them their flavors. You can get an iced chai or lemon, but also a cucumber-lime tea served with Tajin, the chili pepper seasoning.
The most popular? Gummy worm. It really tastes like the candy, said owner Silvestre Arias Jr.
He’s a 2005 San Joaquin Memorial High School grad who played soccer at San Francisco State University.
“Our goal is to inspire a healthy and happy life,” he said.
The Healthy Hub is in a coffee shop-like setting with free Wi-Fi. An Instagram-worthy wall features a neon sign that says “Shake it til you make it.”
It’s modeled after a similar business in Ohio. His brother is planning to open a location called Hooked on Nutrition at Eleventh Street and Fargo Avenue in Hanford.
Details: The Healthy Hub is 777 E. Barstow, suite A. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. (559) 779-5424.
Rare Earth Coffee/Subway
The Johnny Quik gas station that’s at Belmont and Van Ness avenues is open, and it has a Subway and a Rare Earth Coffee inside.
Rare Earth is a locally owned coffee bar that has a complete coffee menu with espresso-based drinks like lattes, cold-brew coffee, tea, energy drinks and smoothies.
On a recent afternoon, the menu include specialties like a salted caramel creme brulee latte. It can be made with milk or milk substitutes such as almond, coconut, soy or oat milk.
There are also iced blended drinks, some made with espresso and some without.
Details: 940 E. Belmont Ave. Rare Earth is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and until 8 p.m. on Sundays. (559) 878-3160.
La Michoacana Plus
This is a Mexican ice cream parlor with a huge menu that has been opening locations up and down the Central Valley. It’s at Tulare Avenue and First Street, in the same shopping center as El Super, the Mexican grocery store.
La Michoacana Plus has fruit paletas (popsicles) in flavors like coconut and guava.
There’s also ice cream in flavors ranging from Snickers and Oreo to cucumber and mango with chamoy, the salty sweet sauce.
All kinds of other snacks and drinks are on the menu too, including aguas frescas and mangonanadas, a drink made with mango, tamarind and chamoy.
It’s also got some Fresno-themed murals that are perfect for Instagram photos.
There’s one with a slingshot launching a scoop of ice cream toward the Fresno sign at the south entrance of town.
Several murals say “I heart Fresno” and one features a set of wings designed to be photographed with a person in the middle.
Details: La Michoacana Plus is at 3142 E. Tulare Ave. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. (559) 389-0381.
Viva
Viva Be Bowl’d is a little restaurant where everything is served in bowls, opened by the same people who own Casa Corona. It’s right next to the original Casa Corona restaurant at Cedar and Herndon avenues.
With an emphasis on fast and healthy, customers can order signature bowls like the “spicy Buddha bowl” with rice, steak and roasted veggies.
Or, they can “byob,” build your own bowl. Customers choose a base (like rice, beans or lettuce), pick a protein and then add toppings and dressings.
The Viva vibe is upbeat, with positive quotes painted on the walls and an inspirational rock garden.
Details: 7038 North Cedar Ave. Viva is open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. (559) 712-6062.
Taqueria Yarelis
Remember the little taqueria with a walk-up window at Belmont Avenue and Fresno Street whose video of its anaconda burrito went viral?
That restaurant, Taqueria Yarelis, opened a second location last week, this one in north Fresno at the southwest corner of Willow and Herndon avenues. This one has an indoor dining room.
That burrito is a three-foot-ong behemoth. Sales of it went so nuts that the restaurant owners were able to buy a house and fund the new restaurant.
The menu features the anaconda burrito, but also burritos in smaller sizes, tacos and asada fries.
The next menu item the owners hope will go viral? Their $15 sandia loca (crazy watermelon). It’s half a watermelon with a mango in it cut in the shape of a flower and mounted on a stick. The watermelon is filled with chunks of cucumber, strawberries and watermelon, along with peanuts, tamarind candy, chamoy sauce and Tajín, the spicy, salty seasoning.
Details: Taqueria Yarelis is at 6929 N. Willow Ave. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Ramen vs Pho
This new restaurant on West Shaw Avenue near Kohl’s serves exactly what it says its name does: Ramen and pho.
Ramen is Japanese wheat noodles in a soup and the other, pho, is Vietnamese with rice noodles.
You may have read our full story about this place last month, and its incredibal murals. Featuring characters from Japanese anime, the murals were painted by the father in the father-daughter duo who run the restaurant.
You can also get street food often founds in Laos, like meatballs on a stick, and ready-to-eat Lao meals to take home.
Details: Ramen vs Pho is at 3747 W. Shaw Ave., near Chase Bank. The restaurant is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (but closed Wednesdays) and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (559) 840-2840.
Kabab City
Kabab City opened its first Fresno location this fall at First Street and Nees Avenue. The Mediterranean restaurant also has locations in Fowler, Reedley, Hanford and Visalia.
This one has a whole different look with a modern vibe.
The food here comes from a mix of cultures that includes Armenian, Greek, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean.
You’ll find Armenian pizza, lahmajoon topped with beef, on the menu.
Kebabs, salads and hummus are also on the menu.
One dish of note: The chicken shawarma skewer. Its comes with a metal contraption holding a plate of pilaf, hummus, salad and pita bread, with the chicken on a large vertical skewer attached to a metal arm above the plate.
Details: Kabab City is at 682 E. Nees Ave. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. (559) 435-5044.
Bethany Clough: (559) 441-6431, @BethanyClough
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
