What happened to Cowboy Chicken? Plus: These new restaurants are coming to Fresno area
Whatever happened to Cowboy Chicken? Which new restaurants are coming to town? Who’s closing because of coronavirus cases?
There’s a lot of foodie news happening in the Fresno area, so I figured I’d round up a bunch of it in one place. Here’s the latest.
Cowboy Chicken
A couple of sharp-eyed readers noticed Cowboy Chicken, the restaurant in Fig Garden Village that opened in November, is closed.
The owner of all three California locations – in Fresno, Bakersfield and San Diego – decided to close them because of the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the state-mandated closure of indoor dining rooms, according to a statement emailed by the company.
For how long isn’t clear.
The statement said this: “However, the Cowboy Chicken Brand is exploring options in hopes to reopen in the future.”
Ampersand/Castillo’s closures
A couple of popular eateries have closed for two weeks after employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The Ampersand Ice Cream location at Marks and Herndon avenues had a “sweet employee” test positive for COVID-19, the owners shared in a Facebook post. Employees are quarantining and the shop plans to reopen Aug. 1.
The other location on Echo Avenue near Fresno High will remain open.
Castillo’s Mexican Food on Ventura Street also noted on Facebook that is has closed for two weeks after a worker tested positive for coronavirus.
They hope to reopen Aug. 3.
Many restaurants that have had employees test positive have been quiet about it, some closing temporarily without explanation, and some not closing at all.
Ampersand and Castillo’s, already both beloved fixtures in the Fresno community, received an outpouring of support and well wishes from customers on their posts when they publicly shared news of the positive cases.
New Chicken Shacks
Chicken Shack, the restaurant known for its wings, chicken fingers and fries, is adding four new locations in the Valley.
The restaurant started in Hanford and also has two locations in Fresno: one on Fulton Street downtown and one on north Blackstone Avenue near Red Robin.
Clovis will get one next, in September or October, in a building at Sierra Vista Mall near the theater where Dickey’s Barbecue Pit used to be.
Selma is also getting a Chicken Shack in August at the northeast corner of McCall and Floral avenues.
And Madera and Merced locations are in the works, though nothing has been finalized yet.
The restaurants are being opened by people licensing the original concept. They will all have the same menu, complete with more than two dozen options for sauces to dip the chicken in.
Bonchon = Bulldoc
Remember when Korean fried chicken restaurant Bonchon opened near Coldstone at Campus Pointe near Fresno State last year?
It recently changed its name to Bulldoc Korean Fusion – “like bulldog but with a C at the end,” says owner Kaye Kim. It translates to “chicken on fire” in Korean, she says.
The company had some changes at the corporate level and Kim decided to pull out of the franchise and go her own way.
The menu is mostly the same, still selling its fried chicken, pork buns and other Korean dishes. But she’s added some extra sauce flavors – like Korean barbecue and sweet honey – and a few extra dishes, like a Korean cold noodle dish.
The restaurant has a few patio tables, but it is mostly doing takeout business. Although it uses several delivery services, it asks that customers order through its website, and pick up food. That way it keeps the typical 30% cut that delivery services charge.
Details: www.bulldockoreanfusion.com, 559-207-3717, 3039 E. Campus Pointe Drive, Fresno.
New farmers market
Fresno has a new farmers market – and it’s on a Sunday, a rarity in these parts.
The Fort Washington Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at the Riverview Shopping Center, at the corner of Friant and Fort Washington roads.
The market features plenty of fruit and vegetable sellers, along with vendors selling foods like salsa and pasta.
It also features sellers of prepared food, like Ohana Pantry and its acai bowls, fruit cups and food trucks.
Crumbl Cookies
Clovis is getting a new cookie shop.
This one could be a ways off, but a franchise of Crumbl Cookies has signed a lease for a location at the southeast corner of Fowler and Herndon avenues.
Crumbl has more than 75 locations nationwide. It sells warm chocolate chip cookies and chilled sugar cookies, along with more than 120 flavors that rotate weekly. In addition to selling at the shop, it also offers local delivery, curbside pickup and nationwide shipping of cookies.
Raising Cane’s
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers appears to be headed for Hanford. The Baton Rouge-based restaurant has more than 490 restaurants worldwide and is named after the founder’s yellow Labrador. It serves mostly chicken finger meals with crinkle-cut fries and Texas toast.
Raising Cane’s Restaurants, LLC, has purchased 1.67 acres at the southwest corner of 12th and Lacey avenues according to sales transactions reported to The Bee by Commercial Retail Associates, in cooperation with CBRE.
Raising Cane’s did not return a message seeking comment about its plans. In February, the company was advertising to hire an area director. At the time, the company told The Bee that it is always looking for ways to open new locations, “especially in California.”
“We will make a public announcement if and when an official expansion decision has been made,” an emailed statement said at the time.
Quesadilla Gorilla
And speaking of Hanford, Quesadilla Gorilla is gearing up to open a location there – probably in early September.
The Visalia-based restaurant specializes in quesadillas and is pronounced either “QuesaDEEYA GorYEEa”or “QuesDILLa GoRILLa,” the owners say. They don’t care which, as long as it rhymes.
The Quesadilla Gorilla truck also recently increased its hours in Three Rivers. The truck parks at 41119 Sierra Drive, in the shadow of the foothills, where it serves at tables under shade cloth from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
The Fresno location at 608 E. Weldon Ave. is still open, though the one downtown has closed. The original location is still trucking at 302 W. Main St. in Visalia.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
