{"id":252528,"date":"2026-04-05T05:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252528\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T05:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T05:24:08","slug":"theres-a-secret-bar-behind-the-bookcase-at-fresnos-newest-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/252528\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s a secret bar behind the bookcase at Fresno’s newest spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"restaurant\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

After seven years of development, the highly anticipated grand opening of Downtown Fresno bar and restaurant Moses McQueen’s took place on Saturday, April 4, 2026. Photo by Denine Currie<\/p>\n

After seven years of planning, a 110-year-old Little Armenia home has been transformed into Moses McQueen\u2019s \u2014 a bar, restaurant and hidden speakeasy.<\/p>\n

The bar and restaurant hosted its highly anticipated grand opening Saturday, April 4th, beginning at 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. at 634 Van Ness Ave. in Downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n

Named after two of Fresno\u2019s founders \u2014 Moses J. Church and Anthony \u201cMcQueen\u201d Easterby \u2014 the venue operates out of the Elia Home, a 110-year-old house and the last remaining residence at its corner near Van Ness Avenue and Cesar Chavez Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Brothers Diego and Miguel Arambula and partner Phillip Kliewer drew inspiration from Austin\u2019s Rainy Street, known for its historic homes converted into bars and restaurants, with a goal of bringing that same Southern hospitality to the Central Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"oldThe 110-year-old Elia Home was the last remaining residence at its corner near Van Ness Avenue and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Photo contributed<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The trio purchased the home from the Elia family, added it to the local historic registry, but were stalled by COVID-19 until 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of the appeal was hanging onto this history,\u201d said Diego. \u201cThis, I think, is the only house left in this entire neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

After working with architects, lenders and the city, the partners renovated the 2,000-square-foot home while preserving its old-school charm. Inside, the main floor features vibrant wallpaper, vintage light fixtures, a tartan couch and teal booths sourced from Calabasas that fit the space as if custom-made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two bars anchor the house \u2014 a 1970s-themed bar downstairs and a 1920s-inspired bar upstairs, accessible only through a hidden bookcase passage. Guests upstairs can also explore an elegant library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and original pocket doors.<\/p>\n

The former backyard is now an outdoor food courtyard with a raised-deck patio, where guests can dine under established trees and order from Moses McQueen\u2019s own permanently fixed food truck. The venue accommodates up to 180 guests indoors and out.<\/p>\n

\"newspaperMoses McQueen\u2019s Bar manager Alexa Leyva crafted the cocktail menu, including the Pink Kitten \u2014 a nod to a gentlemen\u2019s club once located at 41 East Belmont Ave. Image contributed<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bar manager Alexa Leyva crafted the cocktail menu, including the Pink Kitten \u2014 a nod to a gentlemen\u2019s club once located at 41 East Belmont Ave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Head Chef Vance Edwards, whose background spans food trucks to country clubs, designed a menu with wide-ranging flavor profiles, including a Caribbean chicken sandwich, jerk chicken wings, vegan jackfruit tacos and a vegan cheesecake slice.<\/p>\n

The grand opening featured live music from the Ray Moore Band, a Fresno-based ensemble named after its drummer and vocalist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a block away from the Brewery District and we\u2019re excited to be part of that,\u201d Diego said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After seven years of development, the highly anticipated grand opening of Downtown Fresno bar and restaurant Moses McQueen’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[17774,112,114,113,112125],"class_list":{"0":"post-252528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-downtown-fresno","9":"tag-fresno","10":"tag-fresno-headlines","11":"tag-fresno-news","12":"tag-moses-mqueens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252528","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=252528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}