Downtown Fresno restaurant and bar update: Who’s opening, closed and plans to reopen
A lot has been happening with downtown restaurants and bars lately – some of it good, some of it not so good.
There have been openings and closings, and a few places that look closed say they plan to reopen eventually.
Some of that is the normal churn of business openings and closings, but coronavirus also threw a wrench in things.
It affected dining rooms, but also the offices of downtown workers, sending thousands of them to work from home. Because not all of those downtown agencies have brought their workers back, some restaurants have decided to temporarily close until lunchtime foot traffic picks up.
Some restaurants decided to shut down for good.
Others are gearing up to open for the first time, with several very close to opening.
Here’s the lowdown on who’s doing what.
Open
Quail State, Fresno’s rooftop bar, is finally open – on its rooftop.
The long-awaited bar is open indoors and outside on the rooftop of the second floor of the historic Pacific Southwest Building on Fulton Street.
It had already been serving people on the ground floor sidewalk.
With views of downtown high-rises and blankets for cool nights, patrons can enjoy a drink menu that includes cocktails and natural wines.
With coronavirus restrictions in place, meals must be ordered with drinks. The bar has a partnership with chef Matt Lee, who went to Fresno State and has worked at high-end restaurants in Napa Valley.
Almost all its seating (which is spaced out to follow COVID-19 guidelines) is reservation only and it’s filling up quickly.
Details: 1060 Fulton St. Make reservations online at QuailStateFresno.com. Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5 p.m. to midnight Fridays through Sundays. 559-999-7727.
Hummus Republic opened Thursday. Regular readers of The Bee read all about this restaurant back in February. The modern Mediterranean restaurant is at 2424 Tulare Ave., near N Street and just down the street from Kikku Japanese Food.
The locally owned franchise serves healthy food, including build-your-own wraps, pitas or bowls.
Protein choices include steak, chicken shawarma, mushroom shawarma, vegan beef made from a plant-based protein and the ingredient the restaurant is most known for – falafel. (The falafel served from round scoops is also the reason there’s a neon sign on the wall that says “Eat my balls”).
Coming soon
Grumpy Burger Lady’s is a future food truck that is planning to open at Full Circle Brewing Co. Regular readers may remember our story about it back in March.
Part of the family that owns Take 3 Burgers, Des Washington has put on several events downtown using the social media handle Grumpy Burger Lady.
The Black-owned business will specialize in the smushburger, her method of smushing toppings like blue cheese and bacon into the hamburger meat on the grill.
Dab Tacos is getting closer to opening.
The taco truck is opening a restaurant at 721 Fulton St., just north of Modernist cocktail bar in the heart of the Brewery District. Known for its tacos and its loaded fries, Dab will provide another food option for people who are bar and brewery hopping downtown once it’s open.
Last week, the business made this post on Instagram: “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m freaking excited with the fact that the Dab restaurant will be open soon!”
The owners are keeping mum about when it will open and didn’t return our messages, but it appears it could be soon.
Soft opening
A “soft opening” is the first few days a new business is open, when it’s working out the kinks and not quite ready for the massive crowds that can descend upon it when it officially announces it’s open.
Two downtown breweries are in that stage.
Procreations Brewing Co. is a little brewery about three blocks south of Chukchansi Park and Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. On Santa Clara Street, it’s one of the most southern breweries downtown.
Its latest menu features both hazy IPAs and West Coast IPAs, along with an Irish stout, cinnamon porter, a strawberry cream ale and an orange cream ale.
Its patio is open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays.
Details: 1929 Santa Clara St., 559-825-5875.
Full Circle Brewing Co.’s new tasting room is open on Fulton Street. This is the building across the street from Modernist cocktail bar that once belonged to Zack’s Brewing, which closed in February.
Full Circle is keeping its original location on F Street, which is now full of brewing equipment since the brewery expanded its capacity.
The Fulton Street location will be open to the public as a taproom and event venue for live music. It also has a patio.
The building features a section stocked by downtown’s Root General Store selling downtown-themed merchandise.
And Grumpy Burger Lady’s food truck mentioned above is also in the works on the property.
Details: Full Circle’s taproom is at 712 Fulton St. Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Coming later
Famous Ray’s Northside Deli has signed a lease to take over the Downtown Deli at Fresno and P streets that had the unfortunate timing to open and close during the 2020 pandemic.
Within walking distance of City Hall, Famous Ray’s Northside Deli will keep the same name and be a second location for the deli. It opened its first location in January 2020 at Cedar and Barstow avenues.
This one will take awhile coming, though, at least three to six months as the owner plans to redo the kitchen.
Ray’s will have the same menu, including its big meaty sandwiches, salads, pastas and housemade sausages. That includes The Big New Yorker sandwich, made with pastrami brined in house for 25 days, and cannoli for dessert that are fast gaining a reputation in Fresno.
Temporarily closed
Take 3 Burgers on Fulton Street is temporarily closed, but the owner said he plans to reopen it. Many agencies still don’t have all their employees back at downtown offices, meaning lunchtime foot traffic is not back to normal, said owner Brian Washington.
He hopes to reopen the restaurant in about a month.
And when it does, it may have a slightly different menu. There will still be burgers, but also a pastrami sandwich, and a turkey sandwich made with slices of deep-fried turkey, he said.
The Quirky Cafe’s food truck is up and running as normal, but its restaurant downtown has been shut since the holidays.
It’s not closed permanently, though, and co-owner Tracy Wade said they recently renewed their lease. They closed it because business downtown was slow from the coronavirus pandemic and plan to reopen when things pick up.
The truck is busy enough to support both. In fact, they are planning to open another food truck that sells desserts.
Closed
Oriental Express Downtown, the Asian restaurant inside The Galleria at Civic Center Square, closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and is not reopening, according to its landlord.
The restaurant’s owners could not be reached for comment. The landlord is looking for a new restaurant to take over the space.
Joe’s Steakhouse on Van Ness Avenue has closed permanently after 15 years.
The Anaya family closed the restaurant when coronavirus restrictions first hit. Without residential neighborhoods nearby, it didn’t make sense to reopen just to rely on takeout, the owners said.
So the owners decided to close it permanently, The Bee reported last week.
The building is up for lease.
And don’t worry about the family, Jackie Anaya said. They have several other businesses that are thriving right now.
This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
