There’s even more evidence now that a hotly anticipated Cracker Barrel restaurant will indeed be opening in Fresno.

Local media for the last several months now have been speculating that the country-themed restaurant and gift shop would be opening in the Marketplace at El Paseo shopping center near Herndon Avenue and Highway 99 in northwest Fresno. Earlier this month ABC 30 made that announcement, but did not name the source of that information.

The Fresno Bee has been checking up on the rumors for months, since the shopping center’s website, marketplaceatelpaseo.com, listed Panera Bread and Cracker Barrel as retailers that are “Coming Soon” to a new phase of the center, which currently has a Target anchor and several other stores.

A recent leasing report from Commercial Retail Associates lists a transaction for 9,170 square feet of space on the southwest corner of Herndon and Riverside avenues to Cracker Barrel.

While confirmation hasn’t come from the developer or restaurant, this may be the most definitive proof of late that Cracker Barrel is indeed Fresno-bound.

The Lebanon, Tennessee-based chain has 642 restaurants (all corporate owned and operated) in 43 states, but none on the West Coast, including California.

The Mercury News reported in February that Cracker Barrel’s first California location would open in Victorville in San Bernardino County.

The chain traces its roots back to 1969, and has developed a reputation “to greet everyone who walks in our front doors with a warm welcome and serve good meals at fair prices.”