As costs rise, deli and coffee shop in Peacock Market food court in Clovis closing
Roughly 18 months after opening, the Pickled Deli in Clovis is closing.
Owner Nick Huerta cited rising costs of operating a business, restrictions to build a separate entrance leading directly into his restaurant in hopes of boosting foot traffic and personal investment of time all as reasons for the Pickled Deli’s closure.
In addition, the coffee shop located next to the Pickled Deli (also owned by Huerta) is closing.
Together, the deli and coffee shop located inside the historic Peacock Market near the intersection of Tollhouse and Sunnyside avenues, represented what Huerta had rebranded as the Pickled Parlor.
Both operations will close after Saturday, Jan. 31.
“With everything getting more expensive — food, your staff, taxes — my overall overhead had just gone up,” Huerta said. “I’ve ended up working a lot more than I wanted to. And it was getting to a point where it felt like I stopped owning the business. I was working for the business.
“And even though I was working more, my overhead still had gone up.”
During the fall of 2024, the Pickled Deli was part of a food court transformation inside Peacock Market.
The Peacock Artisan Eatery featured The Pickled Deli along with a coffee shop called The Mug and a Mexican restaurant called Miguel’s Taqueria. An ice cream shop also was expected to follow, though it never came to fruition.
Huerta said he spent $80,000 to renovate his part of the food court area , giving the area a different look and feel compared to when it was occupied by a barbecue spot, Phil’s Corner Grill.
But when The Mug pulled out of its Peacock Market sublease with Huerta less than a year in, Huerta said the cost of his overall lease eventually became a bit too much to make The Pickled Deli sustainable.
Rather than find someone to sublease The Mug coffee shop area, which would’ve required sharing of back space area with The Pickled Deli, Huerta decided to open his own coffee shop, The Parlor.
But the coffee shop wasn’t generating enough business, at least to Huerta’s liking.
He said he wanted to create a separate entrance leading directly to his Pickled Parlor area within the market. But such modification was not going to be allowed.
By October, Huerta said he started realizing he likely would have to close both shops.
“The foot traffic has been a bit of an issue — people don’t know that we’re here,” Huerta said. “I’m nestled in this back corner (of the Peacock Market), so I really depend on the shopping center to really be uplifted.”
Huerta said he remains optimistic that a restaurant can thrive inside the Peacock Artisan Eatery area, especially when South of Shaw Beer Co. opens next door to Peacock Market (tentatively set for this summer).
Huerta said he didn’t want to wait.
“It’s been 10 years,” said Huerta, who prior to owning the Pickled Deli in Clovis also had a sandwich shop in Fresno and Visalia. “It was kind of profound — 10 years was my goal.
“Why push it? Why push it to the unknown.”
Huerta, an Army veteran after 20 years in the military, said he has plans to return to school and study mental health counseling.
He also plans to sublease out the Pickled Parlor area, with the new tenants possibly even continuing to operate the Pickled Deli and the Parlor.
“There’s been ups and downs,” Huerta said. “There’s more good times than bad times.
“I love the deli. That’s what I will miss the most.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
