Suspended liquor license, signs removed. What’s up at Fresno’s Culichi Town?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Culichi Town Fresno posted a 15-day liquor license suspension beginning June 3.
- Restaurant sold alcohol to an underage decoy on Nov. 7, 2024, per state records.
- Culichi Town signs removed and windows covered while Carlota plans for fall 2026.
The Culichi Town signs have been removed from the Mexican seafood restaurant and a notice that its liquor license is suspended for 15 days — for selling to a minor — is posted on the front door.
The restaurant appears to be closed; its windows are covered in brown paper and the phone is disconnected. Signs for a “new concept,” Carlota Mexican Flavors, say it’s coming in fall 2026.
Culichi Town opened in May of 2019 in the original Tahoe Joe’s location on West Shaw Avenue near Marks Avenue. The restaurant sold Mexican seafood and sushi — often fried — popular in the seaside state of Sinaloa.
It had a full bar, and a loud atmosphere when bands got going inside, measuring 106 decibels in one Fresno Bee story about loud restaurants.
So what happened?
It’s not exactly clear. No one in the company could be reached for comment.
The Ontario-based company has both franchises and company-owned locations.
The Fresno Culichi Town owner could not be reached for comment.
A man who confirmed he was with Culichi Town Management Group hung up when a Fresno Bee reporter introduced herself and said she was had questions about the restaurant changing names.
The restaurant’s health permit expired April 30.
It’s not clear when the restaurant shut down. The closure is not related to any issues with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, a county spokesperson said.
Culichi Town Fresno is near the end of a 15-day suspension of its liquor license that began June 3. The business sold alcohol to an underage decoy on Nov. 7, 2024, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Culichi Town recently agreed to the suspension after settlement talks since the incident, said ABC public information officer Devin Blankenship.
Several Culichi Towns have closed
The Fresno Culichi Town is not the only one to close.
Locations in Sacramento, Delano, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Elk Grove, Sylmar, Vista, Santa Ana and Tacoma have closed in recent years.
The Sacramento Culichi Town is now a Los Amores de Julia. Several others have been converted to other Mexican restaurants.
Several Culichi Town restaurants are still open, however, including in Modesto, San Jose, Bell and Ontario.
The Santa Ana location — which appears to have a different owner than the Fresno location — had its liquor license suspended in 2023 after serving drinks to an 18-year-old customer who was later involved in a crash that killed another teen in 2021, according to The Orange County Register.
It’s not clear who is behind Carlota, the incoming restaurant, or if it is a different owner.
Culichi Town Fresno’s rocky past
The suspension is not the first time the Fresno restaurant has had legal troubles.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, only patio dining and takeout was permitted by the governor’s executive order. Culichi Town was one of seven bars and restaurants in the Fresno area cited for allowing indoor dining over the Fourth of July weekend.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office later declined to file charges against the restaurant.
But as part of that situation, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control accused the restaurant and bar of having a “disorderly house.” Its liquor license was technically revoked, but the revocation of was put on hold for a year. If the business had no other violations during that year, the revocation would never happen.
It did not and Culichi Town never lost the ability to serve alcohol.
The man listed as president, director and chief financial officer for Culichi Town Fresno on its liquor license, Juan Francisco Fonseca, also had some legal trouble at restaurants he owns in Manteca.
In 2024, the U.S. Labor Department ordered him to pay $824,405 in back wages and damages to 102 workers at his four La Estrella Tacos & Seafood restaurants for failing to pay them overtime, according to The Modesto Bee.
But the Fresno Culichi Town has not been a source of trouble itself recently, said Fresno police Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega. The business had four calls for service since May 29 of last year, most of them not related to disturbances, she said.
“Definitely not a lot of calls for service,” she said.
This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 10:01 AM.
