What’s going into Fresno spot after popular wine restaurant closed? Now we know
When Vino Grille & Spirits closed last summer in northeast Fresno, its customers were heartbroken.
The large restaurant that served a niche of wine lovers citywide — including with its specialty wine store and wine club — left a hole in the Fresno food and drink scene.
But now a new restaurant is taking over the prime spot.
Oak Hill Wine + Bistro is a restaurant, bar and wine store that promises to be a home for wine lovers.
“It’s a great location,” said one of the partners, Brett Cardoza. “This area is a great area for a higher-level dining experience with wine.”
The restaurant’s owners are still working on the building and hope to open this spring.
The business is a partnership between several longtime restaurant industry people, including Cardoza and his wife, Stephanie. He worked in management at restaurants such as Yosemite Ranch and most recently was director of food and beverage at the Table Mountain Casino’s eight restaurants and its dining room that fed 600 employees daily.
Raul Gutierrez Jr. and his wife Jovanie Mauricio are also partners in the business. They own the Papi’s Mex Grill locations and grew up in the restaurant business.
Oak Hill menu
Oak Hill’s menu will have lots of small plates and appetizers ideal for pairing with wine, but also entrees, such as steak.
For example, expect snow crab on toast, or beef tartare (raw steak) on toast, Cardoza said. Charcuterie boards with local fruit and imported cheeses will also be available.
“Everything is from scratch in the kitchen,” he said. “We’re going to go as local as we can possibly go.”
It will be open for lunch and dinner.
As for wine, expect more than the usual go-to options, Cardoza said.
“We want some specialty library wines that you can invest in, hold in your cellars if that’s what you like to do,” he said.
Oak Hill will have a range of wine, including from wineries in Paso Robles, Napa and elsewhere.
It will also have craft cocktails.
The large former Vino Grille building will look a bit different when it’s ready. Minor renovations have been done, and the wine store and the restaurant will have separate entrances.
Plans also call for covering the front patio space with a louvered pergola. The covering can move to provide shade during certain parts of the day.
New benches, planters and greenery will be added, along with communal conversation areas indoors and out.
Vino Grille & Spirits operated at the site from 2017 to 2023. Before that, the business existed under different forms and locations, owned by Chuck and Jen Van Fleet. It started as a wine store in 2006.
The Van Fleets sold Vino Grille in 2022. It closed less than a year later, its new owner citing recovering from COVID-19, labor shortages and the rising cost of food.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 11:22 AM.
