These 5 restaurant openings have Fresno excited. How much longer is the wait?
The rest of the year is going to be a Fresno’s food lover’s dream.
Several restaurants that Fresnans have been awaiting impatiently are scheduled to open between now and the end of year.
They include an Italian restaurant by popular local chef Jimmy Pardini, another restaurant and bar downtown that’s been in the works for eight years and the newest location of In-N-Out Burger.
Here’s a look at what’s coming and details about when.
Willow Osteria
Willow Osteria is an Italian restaurant by Jimmy Pardini, the founder of The Annex Kitchen and Annesso Pizzeria, and part of the Pardini family of restaurateurs.
The Bee shared details of his plans for the restaurant this summer. It’s scheduled to open in October in Clovis. It’s in a new shopping center under construction at the southeast corner of Willow and Shepherd avenues, The Avenue at Heritage Grove.
The menu will be inspired by Pardini’s time in Italy and include including lots of fresh pasta, steak, chicken, seafood and more.
Horn Barbecue
Matt Horn, one of California’s most well-known barbecue pitmasters and a Fresno native, plans to open Horn Barbecue in Fresno soon.
The restaurant has taken over the former Yosemite Falls Cafe spot in Granite Park at 4020 N. Cedar Ave. If its menu is anything like the other locations, it will serve brisket, pork spare ribs, beef ribs, burnt ends, hot links and all kinds of sides.
Horn is the founder of Horn Barbecue in Oakland, Lafayette and Elk Grove, though his Kowbird hot chicken sandwich restaurant in Oakland has closed.
His restaurants have received a James Beard Award nomination and a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. A citation, or “temporary administrative hold” as Horn described it, from the Fresno County Department of Health has delayed the Fresno opening.
But Horn told The Bee in an email that “We are at the finish line, and I have no doubt we will be opening soon.”
Moses McQueen’s
Moses McQueen’s is a bar and restaurant in a house that’s more than century old in downtown Fresno.
The two-story house on Van Ness Avenue near Cesar Chavez Boulevard has been refurbished, with a big deck built in the shady backyard. The second floor will be available for private parties.
It’s been in the works for eight years, but is now aiming for a late October opening, though it might not happen until early November, said owner Phillip Kliewer.
Originally planned as just a bar, the partners have added food in a big way. They turned the small building in front into a commissary kithcen and will have a food truck in the backyard.
But no lining up at a food truck window here; the food will be full service with servers taking your order. The menu will feature small bites, including sandwiches, wings and other comfort food.
The business is currently hiring managers, bartenders and servers for both its kitchen and bar. Apply by emailing careers@mosesmcqueens.com.
In-N-Out
Fresno’s latest In-N-Out Burger is getting closer to opening.
The fast-food restaurant is almost finished in the Fancher Creek Town Center that’s still under construction at the corner of Clovis and Tulare avenues. The shell of the building is up, and the chain’s signature crossed palm trees are planted.
Work continues on the inside of the building and on the drive-thru.
Known for long lines of drivers waiting for their double-double animal style burgers (two patties with cheese, mustard, onions, sauce, pickles and lettuce), the popular spot will be the fifth in the Fresno-Clovis area.
It has not set an opening yet, but plans to open before the end of the year, according to the chief operating officer.
Yellow Chilli
Indian fusion restaurant Yellow Chilli is the restaurant behind the sign teasing that a MasterChef is coming soon to Palm Avenue, just south of Herndon Avenue.
It’s a fine-dining franchise founded by Indian celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. Plans call for it to open in the former Blast & Brew spot.
A Fresno couple who ran a Yellow Chilli in the Los Angeles area and now own Bubble Bee boba and The Curry Life catering plan to open the restaurant here. There’s some confusion over how final the franchise agreement is between them and the headquarters in India, but the couple says are moving ahead.
They’re aiming for a late September opening.
Its menu would include authentic Indian food and Kapoor’s twist on it, along with a full bar and local wines.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 5:35 AM.
