{"id":230617,"date":"2026-03-22T00:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T00:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230617\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T00:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T00:12:12","slug":"fresno-roundup-horn-barbecue-payroll-new-brunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230617\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno roundup: Horn Barbecue payroll, new brunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresno Bee subscribers last week gravitated to a mix of big local headlines and buzzy food-and-business news \u2014 from a heartbreaking loss at a Fresno school to new restaurant openings and behind-the-scenes questions at a high-profile barbecue spot.<\/p>\n

Here are the best-read stories from the previous week, with quick recaps to catch you up fast on what everyone was reading.. Click any headline to dive deeper into the full coverage.<\/p>\n

\"Vatche Vatche Moukhtarian has started offering counter service breakfast and brunch along with offering his Sanctuary Roasting coffee drinks at his Cracked Pepper Bistro, photographed Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com This upscale Fresno restaurant is now serving brunch. So, what\u2019s on the menu?<\/p>\n

Cracked Pepper Bistro, long known in north Fresno for its dinner service and dessert favorites, has launched weekday-and-Saturday brunch. The new offering runs 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with counter ordering to keep prices down. The limited menu includes a croque madame, pork belly over rice with a fried egg, avocado toast and more \u2014 plus coffee roasted by owner Vatche Moukhtarian and brunch cocktails. Click here for the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Fresno Fresno native and acclaimed barbecue chef Matt Horn checks on barbecue meats on the smokers at Horn Barbecue on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com Trouble at Fresno\u2019s Horn Barbecue? Employees say they are going unpaid, quitting<\/p>\n

Just weeks after opening, Fresno\u2019s Horn Barbecue is facing allegations from some employees that paychecks bounced, wages were delayed, and workers were asked to accept payments through apps like Zelle or Cash App. At least two wage claims have been filed with the state, according to the story. A Horn representative said the issue is temporary, tied to financial strain from a delayed opening, and pledged outstanding payments will be resolved. Click here for the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A A suspected drunken driver was arrested Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, in Fresno after a crash that sent another driver to the hospital with major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol. CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL 2 California cities rank among worst in US for drunk driving. Do you live there?<\/p>\n

New rankings from LendingTree and a Florida law firm place Fresno and Sacramento among the nation\u2019s worst cities for drunk driving, using measures that include DUI rates and the share of fatal crashes involving alcohol impairment. One study cited Fresno as No. 2 among major cities for fatal crashes involving drunk drivers from 2019-2023, while another ranked Fresno No. 5 for DUI rates per 1,000 drivers. Click here for the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The The former Heroes Comics store on Shaw Avenue near Freeway 41 is being transformed into Tacos El Franc. It’s a restaurant serving Tijuana tacos that has been recognized by the Michelin Guide. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com A Michelin-recognized taco shop from Tijuana is coming to Fresno. See where<\/p>\n

Tacos El Franc, a Tijuana-based taqueria recognized by the Michelin Guide, is expanding to Fresno with a planned location on Shaw Avenue near Highway 41. The restaurant is taking over the former Heroes Comics space and expects to open in about 90 days. Known for mesquite-grilled Tijuana-style tacos and a menu that includes adobada and carne asada, tacos are expected to run $4.75. Click here for the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Update: Fresno High student who died after collapsing during PE class identified<\/p>\n

Authorities identified the Fresno High School student who died after collapsing during a physical education class as Daniel Padilla Jr., a 14-year-old from Fresno. Fresno Unified confirmed he passed out during P.E., was taken to a hospital and later died. Details about what caused the collapse were not immediately clear at the time of the update, and the district shared condolences for the family and school community. Click here for the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by Fresno Bee journalists. This content was edited by journalists in the newsroom.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Christopher Kirkpatrick<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Christopher Kirkpatrick is senior editor of The Fresno Bee and Vida en el Valle.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno Bee subscribers last week gravitated to a mix of big local headlines and buzzy food-and-business news \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[104656,112,114,104657,113,104655],"class_list":["post-230617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-cracked-pepper-bistro-brunch","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-high-school-student","tag-fresno-news","tag-horn-barbecue-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}