This Fresno bistro opened four days before shelter in place. Here’s what you need to know
It may be the worst timing ever to open a new restaurant in Fresno.
Tulare Street Bistro opened its doors four days before dining rooms were ordered shut and restricted to takeout only, just as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning in California.
Despite the rough start, the restaurant is still trucking.
It’s a little place at 1342 Tulare St. near E Street in Chinatown.
Open for breakfast and lunch, the restaurant serves sandwiches, burgers, French toast with fresh berries, breakfast tacos and more.
What’s popular?
The pastrami sandwich, with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and a house-made Thousand Island dressing is served on grilled marble rye bread from Max’s. So is the turkey-avocado sandwich with a zesty mayo and smoked cheddar on honey wheat bread.
The menu is a step up from what you’d might expect, something that customers mention too, said owner Tracy Boyce.
“They say, ‘You know, your food doesn’t match your area,’” he said.
That could be because there’s some real firepower in that kitchen. Chef Marcial Gonzalez came from 13 Prime Steak in Clovis and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Assistant manager Andrew Milne also comes from Ruth’s Chris, and now defunct Fresno favorite restaurants The Ripe Tomato and The Daily Planet.
“Everything is homemade in house and our menu changes,” Boyce said.
Two baristas can make all kinds of espresso-based drinks like lattes and a mocha latte with coconut they say tastes like an Almond Joy candy bar.
Yes, there are breakfast burritos on the menu (available all day), but also specials like black bean breakfast quesadillas and breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs, salsa and a choice of chorizo, carnitas, ham, bacon or sausage.
Chinatown/downtown
The restaurant is west of the railroad tracks, not far from Chef Paul’s Cafe and next door to Dave Street Customs, a bike shop you may have read a column about recently by The Bee’s Marek Warszawski.
So why this corner of downtown?
“We saw the need. We like how downtown Fresno is going. We just got on the bandwagon,” said bookkeeper Janet Matlock, whose grandfather used to have a barbershop down the street, and who remembers going to Dick’s Menswear and Coney Island hot dog shop when they were both still in business.
They hired an artist to paint a mural on the side of Tulare Street Bistro, and spruced up a patio off the side, adding plants and other decor.
The dining room is open with social distancing, though most of its business is still takeout orders.
Bad timing
Most of its customers find them through word of mouth and social media.
Business has been tough lately for even established restaurants. They are juggling the new and costly demands of opening safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, while many customers are staying home to protect their health.
Tulare Street Bistro’s owner considered postponing, but had already bought all the food and hired the staff.
“We had thousands of dollars of meats,” Matlock said. “We were like, ‘Let’s just go for it.’”
It hasn’t always gone smoothly. They started with 10 employees and had to cut back to six, for example, she said.
“It’s been rough on us,” she said. “It really has.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 1:00 AM.
