Two years in, whiskey lounge is still ‘coming soon’ to Fresno’s Brewery District

There is a whiskey lounge coming to Fresno’s Brewery District.

Exactly when it’s coming has been a bit of a question.

If the sign that’s white-lettered in a Western font on the window of the Rustigian Building is to be believed, The Stage Depot Whiskey Lounge is “coming soon.” But that sign isn’t new and those passing by the space (on Fulton Street just doors down from the Modernist) will have noticed a lack of work being done inside the building.

“You always want things to go sooner than later,” the building’s owner Nora Monaco told The Bee last week. There was a delay in the project, but construction permits could be issued in early January, she said.

“They are just waiting for one minor thing from the city.”

Of course, there is no ETA on the build out after that, much less an idea of an opening date.

But Monaco is optimistic it could happen in 2025.

What is the Stage Depot?

Plans for Stage Depot Whiskey Lounge have been in the works since 2022, when business partners Pete Hernandez and Roger Singh said they would be opening a full-bar cocktail spot that also did whiskey tastings and music.

It’s a prime space: 5,400 square feet in what was, essentially, Fresno’s first bus station. This was in the 1920s, before buses existed and Anchor Stage Lines ran stage rides out to the orchards, vineyards and mountains surrounding the city. The bar will take over what had been the waiting area. Passenger boarding was done in the back of the building.

What else is coming to the Brewery District?

The Stage Depot is one of several new bars being planned for an area that made its mark in craft beer.

It joins Modernist, Rec Room and Bespoke on a row of bars and cocktail spots already operating on the same block of Fulton Street. Two others bars are in the works across the street in the Sun Stereo Building. One, will offer food and a “chill little vibe” full of plants and other greenery. The other, called the Basement, will take over the entire bottom floor of the warehouse.

And there will be more business announcements coming, Monaco says.

She has received “multiple, multiple” lease offers since Full Circle Brewing Company announced it’s leaving its Brewery District location to consolidate in Chinatown.

That building could have a new tenant this week, she says.

There is also space (13,000 square feet of it, with a parking lot) available at the old Pep Boys building on Broadway Street and Monaco has heard that owners of the Mecca Billiards building may also be looking for tenants. Major renovations have already happened at The Downtown Auto Care building at Fulton and Inyo streets.

This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 5:30 AM.