This ‘favorite’ Irish bar and restaurant in Fresno is reopening, after two years closed
Update: Irish OSullivan’s won’t be open in time for St. Patrick’s Day Thursday, but its owner hopes to be open soon after. We will update this story as soon as an opening date is announced.
COVID-19 dealt a devastating blow to Irish OSullivan’s, an Irish bar and restaurant in southeast Fresno.
It closed in March 2020 and didn’t reopen for the next two years. But now, it’s getting ready to make a comeback.
The business is about to reopen – hopefully in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
OSullivan’s is on Kings Canyon Road near Clovis Avenue in southeast Fresno. Coincidentally, it’s just a few doors down from Sunnyside Delicatessen, which also closed and then later reopened.
It hasn’t set an exact opening date yet, as that depends upon things out of their control. But it could be early next week – and they’re hoping to have a big, blowout celebration on St. Patrick’s Day, Thursday, March 17.
“I just want to tell everybody that a Sunnyside favorite is back,” said owner Kelly Allred.
Of course, the menu featuring corned beef cooked daily and Guinness on draft will be back too.
What happened to Irish O’Sullivan’s Sunnyside Lounge?
When COVID-19 shutdowns hit, the business closed rather than try to stay open with takeout food, said Allred.
“It was a struggle for people to sit at a bar together. You couldn’t have banquets,” she said. “Everything we were about, you couldn’t do.”
Allred bought the business in 2010 when it was still JJ’s Restaurant and turned it into Irish O’Sullivan’s Sunnyside Lounge.
A business partner ran it in recent years, but now Allred is back at the helm, with the same chef.
She’s dropped one of the apostrophes and Sunnyside from the name. She’s hoping to eventually franchise the concept in other places.
The reopening is welcome news in southeast Fresno, where a limited number of restaurants make for neighbors who are vocal about dining options.
Mary Macias is one of them.
She’d been going to JJ’s and then OSullivans for years.
“That was what you’d call a signature place here in the Sunnyside area,” she said. “A lot of people would come in after a long hard day of work.”
She’d often go in for a margarita and dinner.
“All walks of life were there,” she said. “You’d see a nice couple come in for a dinner date or a family would come in.”
The business has had some sprucing up with new awnings and some new kitchen equipment. But the dark and cozy bar atmosphere has stayed the same.
It’s still got the big rectangle bar in the middle, surrounded by tables and booths for dining.
The food and drinks
As for the menu, that will be familiar to regular customers too.
Corned beef with cabbage will be on the menu daily. Shepherd’s pie, lamb stew, the popular steak bites, and tri-tip and turkey roasted in house will be available too.
Guinness and several other Irish beers will be on draft. Craft cocktails will be available too.
Details: Irish OSullivan’s is at 5689 E Kings Canyon Road. It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
