Fresno bars look to rebound after pandemic

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Drinks are being shaken and stirred again at Lucy's Lounge in Central Fresno.

"We had to shut down for a very long time and we had several reopenings as everyone else did, and now we are starting to ramp up once again," said Frank Delgado with Lucy's lounge.

The craft cocktail bar has created a new drink lineup menu for its customers who are ready to return to its Tower District spot.

"We have a new sour coming out and May is Cinco De Mayo, so we have a few of our Cinco De Mayo drinks, we have a new tiki drink that will be coming out," said Sarah Primavera, Lucy's lounge Bar Director.

They currently have 12 staff members back at work out of the 20 employees they had at full capacity. As business picks up, they plan to hire more.

They say many employees have been vaccinated.

"There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Things are coming back and I think that gives reason to celebrate," Primavera said.

The lounge opened in 2018.

The staff says what saved them during the pandemic was partnership with its adjoining business Mama Mia.

So they could serve food and drink and stay open for periods of time.

Now they can open to the community without restrictions.

"Maybe we're providing this new sense of normal as they say. They get to come back and the things they were missing, these new drinks every month, these different types of atmospheres you can't get somewhere else. They're coming back here," Delgado said.

A Tower District spot they hope people return to.

Lucy's lounge in the Tower District is open seven days a week starting at 4 pm.

They're looking forward to saying cheers with customers old and new.