After nine weeks of shuttered dining rooms, Fresno County restaurants have been given the green light by the state to reopen for sit-down service.

It will be limited, of course, with people six feet apart and all sorts of other safety precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurants are required to complete an online form detailing their various safety measures and submit it to the county’s Environmental Health Division before reopening. They also must agree to abide by California’s 12 pages of guidelines for restaurant safety.

Once that’s done, restaurants can open effective immediately.

But don’t expect everybody to open up immediately. Mimi’s Cafe, for example, won’t open until Friday, May 29.

It takes time to get things running again, said Mike Shirinian of the Elbow Room Bar & Grill in Fig Garden Village.

“The reason you can’t just open and flip the switch full blast is that you do have new procedures,” Shirinian said. “We’ve got a specific procedure for checking you in and proper distancing and getting you into your table.”

On Friday, the Elbow Room was getting staff back into the restaurant, training them on new cleaning procedures and ordering plexiglass dividers for booths. The restaurant plans to officially reopen Tuesday.

“Some people are just staying on unemployment because they can,” Shirinian said. “(We’re) getting the right staff back and doing the training on … the mechanics of all of that so we deliver a confident, comfortable experience for the guest. You can’t have the guest feeling as though they’re dining in the ICU.”

Some other restaurants may face delays in getting food from suppliers as every restaurant in the county gears up to open, Shirinian said.

Most restaurants will continue to do takeout and delivery as many customers won’t feel comfortable dining in yet, and operating at limited capacity still won’t bring in the income that restaurants made in pre-pandemic times.

Some restaurants are seating people by reservation only. Hours may have also changed, so call your favorite restaurant before showing up.

Note: This is not a comprehensive list of every restaurant in Fresno. There’s far too many for us to include every one here so if you’re wondering about a restaurant not on the list, give it call or check its social media accounts.

Opening dates

Here’s a running list of who is opening for dine in and when.

▪ Annex Kitchen, 2257 W Shaw Ave., May 26, reservation only, 559-248-8512

▪ AJ’s Armenian Cuisine, 5048 N. Maroa Ave., May 26, 559-225-4580

▪ BC’s Pizza & Beer, 1315 Shaw Ave., Clovis, May 26, 559-297-7800

▪ The Berrock Shop, 2016 W. Bullard Ave., May 26, 559-439-0402

▪ Black Bear Diner, 3602 W. Shaw Ave., June 3, 559-271-4704

▪ B S Coffee Shop, 233 Sunnyside Ave., Clovis, May 23, 559-299-2000

▪ Casa Corona, 7044 N. Cedar Ave., June 4, 559-323-7409

▪ Casa Corona, 1724 W. Bullard Ave., June 4, 559-283-8605

▪ Chubby’s Diner, 3108 E. Gettysburg Ave., May 23, 559-227-4402

▪ Cool Hand Luke’s, 955 Shaw Ave., May 22, 559-297-7435

▪ Corner Bakery Cafe, 8464 N. Friant Road, May 27, 559-328-5991

▪ DiCicco’s, 144 N. Blackstone Ave., May 27, 559-237-7054

▪ DiCicco’s, 5635 E. Kings Canyon Road, May 27, 559-252-7100

▪ DiCicco’s, 2221 W. Shaw Ave., May 27, 559-221-6338

▪ DiCicco’s, 1071 E. Shaw Ave., May 27, 559-229-7811

▪ Elbow Room, Fig Garden Village, May 26, 559-227-1234

▪ Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant, 48688 Victoria Lane, Oakhurst, June 4, patio only, 559-683-6860

▪ Fresno Breakfast House, 2085 W. Bullard Ave., June 1, 559-431-1385

▪ Hangar Restaurant, River Park, May 23, 559-573-7353

▪ Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant, 24505 West Dorris Ave., Coalinga (Interstate 5 and Highway 198), May 23, 559-935-0717

▪ IHOP Clovis, Sierra Vista Mall, reservations available, May 23 (Fresno locations Tuesday), 559-324-0245

▪ Heirloom, 8398 N. Fresno St., May 26, 559-228-9735

▪ High Sierra Grill,, 2003 W. Bullard Ave., May 22, 559-435-8500

▪ Kikku Kitchen, 7785 N. Palm Ave., 7785 N. Palm Ave., May 26, 559-431-9888

▪ The Local, 401 Clovis Ave., May 22, 559-900-4253

▪ Logan’s Roadhouse, 7507 N. Blackstone Ave., May 26, 559-437-9385

▪ Los Amigos, 5088 N. Blackstone Ave., May 26, 559-439-0477

▪ The Mad Duck Clovis, 765 W. Herndon Ave., May 26, 559-298-3825

▪ Mad Duck Craft Brewing, Campus Pointe, Friday, May 29, 559-325-3825

▪ Mad Duck Craft Brewing Northwest, May 26, 7050 N. Marks Ave., 559-840-3825

▪ Me n Ed’s Coney Island Grill, River Park, May 28, 559-440-1088

▪ Me n Ed’s Victory Grill, 4010 N. Cedar Ave., May 28, 559-230-0496

▪ Max’s Bistro & Bar, 1784 W Bullard Ave., May 26, 559-439-6900

▪ Mimi’s Cafe, River Park, Friday, May 29, 559-439-2669

▪ Mochuelo, 2305 W. Shaw Ave., June 3, 559-348-5555

▪ Mountain Mike’s Pizza, 1089 E Shaw Ave, May 22, 559-241-7210

▪ Mountain Mike’s Pizza, 1055 E Herndon Ave, June 1, 559-439-5898

▪ Olive Garden, Marketplace at El Paseo and Clovis, May 23, 559-275-1034, 559-323-7297

▪ Papi’s Mex Grill, 1560 E. Champlain Drive, May 26, 559-434-1609

▪ Parma Restaurant, 6729 N. Palm Ave., Saturday, May 29, reservation only, 559-432-3389

▪ Patio Café , Fig Garden Village, June 1 (soft opening May 30-31), takeout and Farmers Market Care packages continue, 559-243-1074

▪ Piazza Del Pane, 799 W. Palmdon Dr., May 28, 559-229-7263

▪ Piazza Del Pane, 8043 N. Cedar Ave., May 28, 559-436-1076

▪ Pismo’s Coastal Grill, 7937 N. Blackstone Ave., May 26, 559-439-9463

▪ The Point Patio Bar and Bistro, 2940 E. Nees Ave., May 22, 559-765-4397

▪ Raw Fresno, 2405 Capitol St., May 26, 559-250-5292

▪ Richard’s Prime Rib and Seafood, 1609 E. Belmont Ave., May 26, reservation only, 559-266-4077

▪ Riley’s Brewpub, 2674 Owens Mountain Parkway, May 28, 559-862-2925

▪ Rodeo Coffee Shop, 535 Fifth St., Clovis, May 27, 559-299-3750

▪ Sakura Chaya Tokyo Cuisine, 1200 Shaw Ave., Clovis, June 3, 559-900-4326

▪ Sal’s Mexican Restaurant, 7476 N. Fresno St., Friday, May 29, 559-438-3030

▪ Salazar’s Grill & Bar, 345 Sierra St., Kingsburg, May 22, 559-897-1843

▪ Sandy’s Country Junction, 532 Clovis. Ave., May 26, 559-298-1951

▪ School House Restaurant & Tavern, 1018 S. Frankwood Ave., May 27, 559-787-3271

▪ Starving Artists Bistro, 9447 N. Fort Washington Road, May 29, 559-433-0133

▪ Ten Tavern, 1177 N. Willow Ave., May 27, 559-512-1376

▪ The Train Depot, 3045 E. Ashlan Ave., May 23, 559-442-1401

▪ Trelio, 438 Clovis Ave., May 28, 559-297-0783

▪ Uncle Harry’s New York Bagelry & Coffeehouse, Cedar and Shaw, May 22, 559-490-0140

▪ Uncle Harry’s New York Bagelry & Coffeehouse, First & Herndon, May 22, 559-490-7450

▪ Uncle Harry’s New York Bagelry & Coffeehouse, Marks & Shaw, May 22, 559-271-9085

▪ Uncle Harry’s New York Bagelry & Coffeehouse, River Park, May 22, 559-431-5404

▪ Vino Grille & Spirits, 1440 E. Champlain Drive, May 26, reservation only, 559-434-1771

▪ Viva! Be Bowl’d, 7038 N. Cedar Ave., May 26, 559-712-6062

▪ The Vyxn, 9455 Fort Washington Road, reservation only, May 23, 559-353-2204

▪ The Waffle Shop, 4025 W. Figarden Dr., May 22, 559-446-1086

▪ Westwoods, River Park, May 26, 559-449-9227

▪ Yard House, River Park, May 24, 559-261-2165

▪ Yosemite Falls Cafe, 5123 N. Blackstone Ave., May 22, 559-225-6800

▪ Yosemite Falls Cafe, 4248 W. Ashlan Ave., May 22, 559-275-6060

▪ Yosemite Falls Cafe, 1455 Shaw Ave., May 22, 559-324-8456

▪ Yosemite Falls Cafe, 4020 N. Cedar Ave., May 22, 559-222-7800

▪ Yosemite Ranch, 1520 E. Champlain Drive, sometime in June, 559-434-4403

This list will be updated.

Is your restaurant opening? Email us with the name of your restaurant, address and phone number, and let us know if it’s reservation only.

This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 10:02 AM.

Bethany Clough

The Fresno Bee

(559) 441-6431

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.