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los panchos

Earth Builders Construction Company workers start renovation and facade work for Los Panchos Restaurant and Cantina in Fresno in this March 2018 file photo.

published on March 15, 2018 - 12:36 PM
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The Fulton Street dining scene will soon be a little more colorful in Downtown Fresno with the kickoff of renovations to Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant and Cantina.

Work began Thursday morning on plans for an outside bar and patio extension that will total 15-by-36 feet, along with aesthetic renovations such as paint, plasterwork and retiling. There will also be large umbrellas to cover the outside patio.

Craig Scharton, interim president and CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, said that Los Panchos Restaurant and Cantina and other eateries in the area will lead the way to renewed interest in downtown.

“When you ask people what they like to do in their favorite downtown, it’s always eating and drinking, and walking around and sitting outside and people watching,” says Scharton.  The way downtowns revitalized first is by creating a dining and entertainment district, so that really is our purpose.

The restaurant first opened in 1984 as Cancun Restaurant, and changed its name to Los Panchos in 1991, and Ana Lillia De Alba, co-owner of the restaurant, married the son of the original owners and has been working at the restaurant for more than 10 years.

There was a drawback of waiting for seven months to get construction permits, but De Alba believes that the outside patio was possibly the issue, as it will be the first of its kind downtown.

De Alba says that she is happy that she gets to be a part of the downtown community and is excited to be a part of revitalizing the area.

“I think it’s what we have to do to support small business and support downtown,” says De Alba. We have to be a team and get this together. We dont want to move. We just want to stay here and make a difference.

Working on the renovations is Earth Builders Construction. Owner Sean Dempsey believes that it will have the most authentic Mexican look than any other Mexican restaurant in town.

“I’ve always played with plaster and natural materials, and that’s the way they build in Mexico,” Dempsey said. “Handmade tile, locally milled woods, reclaimed materials, and natural plasters will all be part of this construction process.”

Construction is expected to be completed within a month.


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