Casa de Tamales temporarily closes Fulton Mall location during construction

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Downtown Fresno restaurant is making a sacrifice while construction along the Fulton Mall continues.

The downtown location of Case De Tamales closed its doors on Monday, but the move is only temporary. Owner Liz Sanchez says business at the location was going great, but construction made it difficult for customers to reach her restaurant.

"The fences, the green screens, it's like a maze to get through," she said. "But some them found their way to us and were able to get to our door."

Pedestrians have access to the Fulton Mall, with limitations in some areas, but it is closed to vehicle traffic. Construction was to be completed this spring but the city of Fresno says a wet winter delayed paving work because the ground became so saturated from heavy rain.

"We're still working toward a mid-summer opening," Mark Standriff with the City of Fresno said. "And, for us, we want to make sure we open up the entire street to traffic at the same time because of security and liability issues."

Standriff says he met with Sanchez last week to talk about her concerns and decision to close temporarily.

"One of the things that Liz wanted to do was to have an event that allowed her fans, her customers to still get the Casa De Tamales experience," he said.

"They understood where I was coming from and having to put a pause on operations for now," Sanchez said. "I did have an Art Hop planned and wanted to bring a couple of food trucks to celebrate food and art."

Sanchez says no employees were laid off due to the closure. The staff of three to four people will work at the restaurant's Tower District location, catering service or food truck.

Sanchez will reopen for business on the Fulton Mall this Thursday for Art Hop and hopes to be fully back in business when construction is complete later this summer.