These 20+ restaurants are opening in Fresno, Clovis in 2023. Here’s what’s coming

There’s lots to look forward to on the Fresno-area restaurant scene in 2023.

At least two dozen new restaurants and bars are in the works. They range from an international Filipino fast food chain that people get excited about (yes, Jollibee) to a new bar in Clovis by the people behind the Tower District craft beer bar Goldstein’s.

Local restaurants, Armenian and Ethiopian food and a nonalcoholic bar are coming. And the Nashville hot chicken eatery trend continues to thrive in Fresno.

The openings come after a year in which the area saw at least 18 restaurants close. And one never made it to its opening. Plans for a downtown location of Vietnamese restaurant Huong Lan have been scrapped.

But there’s always new restaurants opening in Fresno. Here’s a look at what you can expect to open this year.

New Fresno restaurants in 2023

Al’s Hot Chicken is headed for the northeast corner of Blackstone and Sierra avenues, slated to open in February. It’s a Nashville hot chicken franchise with locations in Los Angeles serving sandwiches, buckets of chicken and more.

Baklava House is in the works at the northwest corner of Bullard and West avenues. It serves a lot more than baklava, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. It will serve international food, including Armenian and American.

It took over the former Oka Japanese Restaurant and the space next door.

The Backyard Social Club is a new bar in the works on the edge of Old Town Clovis. It’s in a house with a backyard on Clovis Avenue that used to be photo business Memory Lane, just north of Shaw Avenue. In the 1970s, it was a business called The Backyard Bar & Grill.

It will serve beer and food. One of the owners, Craig Johnson, and two former managers of craft beer bar Goldstein’s Mortuary & Delicatessen, Andrew O’Brien and Michelle Guevara, are opening the business. Johnson is promising “Goldstein’s with a country western flair” and shooting to open in mid March.

Batter Up Pancakes is very close to opening its newest location, at the southwest corner of Herndon and Fowler avenues in Clovis. The popular breakfast spot is aiming to open in early February.

Ben Smokin BBQ is expected to open in February in the former Happy Star Chinese restaurant on Palm Avenue, just south of Olive Avenue. It plans to serve barbecue, Asian food and vegetarian options.

Bitwise Industries’ newest renovated building in downtown will eventually be home to four restaurants. Inside the State Center Warehouse building at 747 R St., Las Mañanitas 2 is already open.

In the next month or so, it will be joined by cafe and coffee spot Mosaic, pizzeria and bar Railway, and seafood and poke bowl place Aha Ahi.

Bone Dry Sober Bar is gearing up for a series of sneak previews starting Feb. 11, with a grand opening in March. It will serve mocktails, non-alcoholic wine and beer, and kombucha. The business is inside the Sun Stereo Warehouse and will have TVs and live music.

California Fish Grill is taking over part of the former Marie Callender’s spot on Blackstone Avenue. The seafood restaurant chain is expected to open in April.

Captain Crab is a Stockton-based seafood restaurant taking over the space left by Rio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse at Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis.

Fasika Ethiopean Restaurant is forging ahead with its plans to open a second location. It will be inside the historic Helm building at Fulton and Mariposa streets and is aiming to open this spring.

Front Yard Burger on Blackstone Avenue, just north of Bullard Avenue, is still in the works. It’s owned by the man who owns Angry Chickz and Flippin Dave’s.

Garlishious Deli is headed for the former Downtown Deli spot at 2621 Fresno St. Run by the owners of the Garlish garlic spread, it will “hopefully” open this year.

Houston Hot Chicken is a chicken sandwich franchise with restaurants in five states. It’s opening in March at Park Crossing at Fresno Street and Friant Road.

Jollibee, the popular international Filipino fried chicken chain, plans to open its first Fresno location this year, confirmed a Fashion Fair mall representative. Construction on the new building should start soon on the site of the demolished Bank of the West, on Shaw Avenue just east of Burger King.

In addition to buckets of chicken, sandwiches and burgers, it also serves dishes with a Filipino twist like “jolly spaghetti” and palabok noodles.

Lune Wine Bar & Eatery is run by the same people who opened charcuterie business Fig & Honey. It’s shooting to open in April in space Fig & Honey first opened in at 938 Fulton St.

Fig & Honey has moved to a different spot inside the same building, the T.W. Patterson building.

Pizza Factory is expected to open at the northwest corner of Shaw and Leonard avenues in Clovis sometime during the first three months of the year.

The PM Lounge is a 15,000-square-foot, members-only social club with a restaurant, bar and live music. If work goes as planned on the building (a former Fresh & Easy) at the northwest corner of Cedar and Nees avenues, it is expected to open in late 2023.

The Red Chickz, a Nashville Hot Chicken place, is close to nailing down a location in Fresno and expects to open in 2023.

Sabor Cocina Latina & Bar is getting close to opening its new location, likely opening in mid February. The high-end Mexican restaurant has closed its original location on Figarden Drive. It will soon reopen in part of the space left by Ginza in the shopping center at Palm and Nees avenues.

Salty Bitch Bakery has been in a soft opening and will hold its grand opening Feb. 25. The bakery makes all kinds of baked goods such as muffins, croissants, cakes, and creative treats like boba donuts.

It’s inside Libelula, the restaurant downtown next to the Crest Theatre.

Toledo’s Mexican Restaurant is once again working on its newest location that will replace the one that was torn down. This large new restaurant is near Cedar and Nees avenues. It’s separate from the temporary mini Toledo’s that the family opened in the same shopping center in 2021.

If all goes as planned, they hope to have the new restaurant open by summer.

Tsukiji is taking over the former California Pizza Kitchen spot on North Blackstone Avenue. Despite repeated attempts by The Bee to contact the owners, they are staying quiet on details.

But we do know it’s an all-you-can-eat Japanese food restaurant. We’ll let you know when it opens.

West Coast Sourdough is gearing up to open its third sandwich shop in Fresno in about four to six weeks. This one will be at the southeast corner of Herndon and Brawley avenues, near Dutch Bros Coffee and Tractor Supply Co.