New restaurants and bowling alley bring downtown Dinuba to life

Tuesday, May 7, 2019
New restaurants and bowling alley bring downtown Dinuba to life
Dinuba is welcoming some new businesses into the downtown area, enticing people to come back once more.

DINUBA, Calif. (KFSN) -- One of downtown Dinuba's most heavily used roads, L Street, is seeing new life.

Three anchor spaces are no longer vacant as a new business move in. This means a new place to learn and more options for fun.

Orbit Lanes is taking over the old bowling alley off L and Ventura Streets.

It's more than just the 16 lanes and a redesign that's inviting people back. The new owners also incorporated their restaurant, Y-R Pizza Planet. It is their fourth location in the South Valley.

Owner Yvette Trevino Alvarez says it makes their business a one-stop shop for family fun.

"You come here, you're exercising, you're eating, you're hanging out, and you're conversing, and you're having family time," said owner Yvette Trevino Alvarez.

Orbit Lanes has been open for about two months, but Yvette says it took extensive repairs and remodeling to get the place up and running.

"The roof was really, really bad, leaking all over the lanes," she said. "We had to do a lot of repairs and work on mechanics."

Up the street, the formerly known D's Sports Bar and Grill are under new management after sitting vacant for years. The business is expected to open soon under the new name, Big D's Sports Bar and Grill.

Assistant City Manager Daniel James says other improvements are also underway in downtown.

"Through a variety of state and local funds, we have been able to do intersection traffic repair and sidewalks," James said. "We are also currently working on our entertainment plaza."

At the end of L street near Fresno Street, the Vocational Center is open once more -- this time under the Dinuba Unified School District.

The facility is being used as an adult school and college career office. They hope it'll encourage people to spend time downtown when they visit.

"Stay in town, spend local tax dollars here and just not have to leave town in order to have fun," James said.

The owners of Orbit Lanes say they're optimistic about what the future of downtown holds for them.

Next, they plan on constructing new spaces on the empty lot next door to give Dinubians even more options.