A bar in Fresno’s Tower District is getting a new restaurant. Its food has a following
Libelula, the downtown Fresno restaurant next to the Crest Theatre, has opened a second location: It’s inside Strummer’s in the Tower District.
Strummer’s is the bar with a concert venue (formerly Starline) next door on Fern Avenue. It has a kitchen that has been run by various eateries and chefs over the years.
Tuesday, Libelula opened in the spot.
Spanish for dragonfly (and pronounced LEE-bay-loo-la), Libelula opened in 2019 serving farm-to-table dishes. Its downtown Fresno location with a dragonfly mural gained a following for its creative dishes, like its burgers, vegan eel and tater tots loaded with toppings.
The original location is also expanding with a bakery next door – keep reading for more news on that.
Libelula at Strummer’s
The menu at the Tower location will be a bit more geared toward foods that pair well with a beer or a cocktail (versus Libelula’s breakfast and lunch food).
Its signature “saucy tots,” will be on the menu. Those are tater tots smothered in various sauces (like Thai curry or Soyrizo, a soy-based chorizo) with a fried egg on top.
Burgers will also be available. The restaurant has various burgers on special each week. Lately, it’s the French dipper, a cross between a French dip sandwich and a cheeseburger with sauteed onions, havarti cheese and a housemade broth made with bone marrow to dip it in.
There will be vegan and vegetarian options too.
The spot will generally be open in the evenings and for concerts.
Chef and owner Ian Cookson started Libelula – sometimes called Lula’s – after working as the executive chef at The Vineyard Restaurant & Bar in Madera.
To have a location at Strummer’s felt like a natural fit, he said.
“I grew up a little punk rocker kid,” he said. “To grow up and have a restaurant in a bar that’s named after Joe Strummer of The Clash is pretty cool.”
Salty Bitch Bakery
The downtown Libelula is also in the process of expanding with a bakery next door called the Salty Bitch Bakery.
It’s taken over the space next to the theater and will create a pass through set up, potentially opening in January.
The bakery will sell sourdough bread, pastries, cookies, cakes and other sweets, including its signature salty snickerdoodles.
It’s a project between Cookson and his 19-year-old daughter, Ivy Cookson, who has already been selling under the Salty Bitch Bakery name.
The name started as joke, but stuck, he said.
“She looks like she’s grumpy all the time, even if she’s not, so the name was super fitting,” he said, noting that she’s been working as his pastry chef at various restaurants since she was 15.
Details: The new Libelula is inside Strummer’s at 833 E. Fern Ave. Hours: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The original Libelula restaurant is at 1154 Broadway Plaza. 559-570-8180.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 1:47 PM.
