Mike Shirinian (left) and his business partner Daniel McGee. Photo by Edward Smith

The Fresno food scene has evolved significantly over the last 30 years, with restaurants coming and going — as well as trends driven by customer preference and the inevitable flux of the economy.

One Fresno restaurant, however, has stood the test of time, and a local restaurateur is celebrating a landmark achievement in the industry.

Mike Shirinian, owner of The Elbow Room in Fig Garden Village, recently celebrated the 30-year anniversary of his purchase of the restaurant. Over that time, he has seen what started out as an at-home, mom-and-pop (literally) restaurant to an 11,500 square-foot sprawling dining experience attracting customers from Fresno and beyond.

First opened in 1955 at the corner of McKinley and Palm avenues, the small restaurant, operated by a husband-and-wife duo for its first years of operation, lacked its namesake — elbow room. The small establishment went through several evolutionary phases after being purchased by Lee and Vito Guido in 1971, relocating to Shaw Avenue, the current home of The Lime Lite – another Fresno fine-dining staple.

 

The restaurant changed hands again when it was purchased by Stan and Diane Bien before Shirinian acquired it on June 1, 1994.

Shirinian, who cut his teeth as a bartender and eventually general manager at the Silver Dollar Hofbrau, said that the deal, while not a “knee jerk” purchase, definitely came together very quickly.

“It was like the stars aligned on it,” Shirinian said, reflecting on the 45-minute long conversation that he had with the former owners and his business partner prior to purchasing the restaurant. “Fortunately I was able to bring my key people from the Silver Dollar Hofbrau and brought a whole bunch of clientele.”

Elbow Room, already popular in the Fresno restaurant scene, grew seven fold in the first two years Shirinian owned it, forcing him to look into relocation options. Fortunately, that option came at nearby Fig Garden Village in the form of a 5,000 square-foot restaurant space in the fast-developing and unique shopping center.

 

In 1997, The Elbow Room settled down in its current location and has continued to expand to this day.

“Fresno’s such a loyal town that moving into Fig Garden Village really legitimized the Elbow Room,” he said. “Over the years we’ve continued to evolve. We’ve expanded and made two patios at the Elbow Room, a wine cellar dining room; it’s grown dramatically in the 27 years we’ve been in Fig Garden Village.”

Evolving from an approximately 900 square-foot restaurant at Palm and McKinley to its current 11,500 footprint at Fig Garden Village isn’t the only thing Shirinian has seen change over the years.

Shirinian said he’s had the opportunity to see not only the Fig Garden Village shopping center grow and evolve, but the local community as well, noting demographic shifts as new generations move into Old Fig and older generations pass on.

Throughout the generations, however, one thing remains constant: the steady stream of clientele at the restaurant, which Shirinian said shows the loyalty of Central Valley patrons.

“Literally every day in this building we have three generations of people,” he said. “It’s kind of mind blowing.”

 

Along with the local residents and businesses, The Elbow Room has also seen consistent evolution while retaining its Fig Garden and Fresno charm. This year, the restaurant’s patio will undergo renovations, adding windows that can open and shut to accommodate the weather, as well as patio air conditioning and booths for customer comfort.

The evolution of the restaurant, however, wouldn’t be possible without Shirinian’s staff, some of whom, including his bar manager, have been with him since his time at the Silver Dollar Hofbrau.

Shirinian also celebrates the efficiency and dedication of his younger staff members as well, viewing them as essential to the restaurant’s continued successful operation.

“I hear people talking about [how] ‘there aren’t great young people nowadays’ – well that’s just not the case,” Shirinian said. “We’ve got really, really good young people that I’m proud of.”

The Elbow Room is located at 731 W. San Jose Ave. in Fresno and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.