Restaurant Roundup: Island Flavors, Steak in the “Chandelier Room,” Buffet at Denny’s, and Waiver Chicken

Hawaiian-style dancers celebrate the opening of the new Hawaiian Ono BBQ in Fresno on Friday. Photo by Ben Hensley

published on November 14, 2022 – 10:53
Written by Ben Hensley

Ono Hawaiian BBQ opened its third location in Fresno on Friday at the corner of Shaw and Brawley avenues, offering free food, shirts, tote bags and pins during a ribbon cutting.

The restaurant took over the space formerly occupied by Del Taco in the same manner as their second location, which also now occupies a former Del Taco location on Kings Canyon Road.

Hawaiian BBQ Ono opened its first location 20 years ago, offering customers its version of Hawaiian and island delicacies.

Since its beginnings in Santa Monica, the latest Fresno restaurant is the 101st location between California and Arizona. The company has 11 stores in Arizona and the rest of their locations in California.

All Ono stores are company-owned, said store manager Nathan Qu.

Ono’s new location also joins their restaurant on Kings Canyon with drive-thru.

13 Prime

Improvements, renovations and expansions will come 13 Bounty at Clovisconfirmed CFO Falina Marihart.

According to Marihart, the restaurant will occupy the space that once housed House of Pendragon, which closed in the summer.

The restaurant hopes to unveil its new dining room, an additional 872 square feet, in December.

Marihart added that this is the initial phase of a two-phase project that aims to be fully completed by Valentine’s Day 2023.

The additional dining room will replace the existing private dining room, which will be transformed into a kitchen space in phase two.

Dubbed the “Chandelier Room,” the new dining space aims to attract private parties, corporate events and additional weekend seating.

“The Bedroom Chandelier is a different dining experience with white linen tables, premium seating, crystal light fixtures, and modern textures and colors,” Marihart said. “The room will have its own vibe with softer music and lower volume compared to the main dining room.”

Denny’s Reedley

Reedley will soon host its first Denny’s location, with permits filed with the planning department last month.

The building permit for the improvements to the new location was issued on October 17.

The future home of the restaurant was previously occupied by Manning Chinese Buffet. The 5,100 square foot building is located at 955 E. Manning Ave. in the same mall as Ace Hardware and Auto Zone.

Currently, the nearest Denny’s is in Selma.

An official opening date has yet to be announced.

Houston‘s Hot Chicken

The Park Crossing shopping center at Fresno Street and Friant Road will host a new chicken restaurant in early December.

Houston’s Hot Chicken chain, according to the websitewill see its number of locations double by spring 2023, with six more openings in Fresno, Las Vegas and San Diego in the coming months.

“Our mission is to serve the freshest, healthiest Texas Hot Chicken sandwiches in the world,” the website reads, along with a link to job opportunities.

Menu items range from hot chicken sandwiches to salads and loaded fries. They also offer milkshakes, sides, and party packages.

Although they have “hot” in their name, the sauce options can be customized, from no spice and honey butter, to “take off” and “Houston, we have a problem”, which which requires a signed waiver of the order.

Attempts to contact Houston’s Hot Chicken were unsuccessful.

The up-and-coming chain was rated Top Place to Eat in Vegas in 2021 by Yelp.