Bee’s top stories: Modesto eatery tries to stay open, street reopening relieves traffic

From a beloved Caribbean restaurant fighting to stay open to a city attorney named in a lawsuit alleging credit card misuse, the past week brought major developments across Stanislaus County. Here’s a roundup of the biggest local stories of the week.

Here are key takeaways:

• Cariblue Restaurant, voted best new restaurant of 2024 by Modesto Bee readers, is facing imminent closure. Owner Abel Cano has launched a GoFundMe to pay overdue bills at the Jamaican eatery at 3801 Yosemite Blvd., he told The Modesto Bee.
• Turlock City Attorney Katie Lucchesi was named in a civil lawsuit filed by Lodi’s former city manager alleging she used a city-issued credit card for personal expenses and altered staff reports without consent, according to a complaint filed June 4 in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
• Aaron Valencia has spent “a lot of millions” converting 87-year-old grain silos built by The Grange Company in 1939 into Modesto Silos, a coffee shop, bar, restaurant and event space with 398-person capacity. It is set to open in the next few weeks at 320 Madonia Ave., Valencia said during a tour.
• The Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury has declined to investigate allegations that Modesto Irrigation District Director Larry Byrd stole or misused canal water on his almond orchards. The grand jury decision prompted MID board President Robert Frobose to send a nearly 150-page letter asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to step in.
• 10th Street between G and H streets in downtown Modesto has reopened to traffic after being closed since June 2025 for construction of the new $352 million Stanislaus County courthouse, which is now expected to be completed by fall after multiple delays, the city announced.