Remember the Tang Dynasty restaurant at at the northwest corner of Shaw and West avenues? OfficeMax?

They are not much more than a pile of rubble now.

For weeks, heavy equipment has been tearing down walls of the former stores and trucking away their remains.

So just what exactly are they making way for? And what about all those changes happening at the other corners of Shaw and West?

There’s a lot happening at this busy corner, so we thought we’d spell it all out for you.

The northwest corner

The buildings that once housed Tang Dynasty, OfficeMax and Nina’s Bakery are all in the process of being torn down. They’re making way for an ALDI, a popular German discount grocery store that has a location in Clovis. It has signed a lease and will move into a newly-constructed building where Tang Dynasty is now. Other spaces will be available for businesses to rent.

Nina’s Bakery, a little Armenian and Mediterranean place selling baked goods and lahmahjoon (Armenian pizza), was also torn down. It’s moving into a new spot at West and Herndon avenues, near The Market. It’s getting closer to opening and could open within a matter of weeks or a month or so, one of the owners said Tuesday.

The Fast Auto & Payday Loans business right next to the corner will also be torn down and a new 7-Eleven will be built in its place with a gas station, according to Fresno District 2 City Councilmember Mike Karbassi. The existing 7-Eleven across the street will move there.

The northeast corner

Across the street, Angry Chickz restaurant has opened next to Round Table Pizza. It sells the trendy Nashville hot chicken. Some of the chicken is so spicy they make you sign a waiver – literally.

Los Amigos, the Mexican restaurant on the other side of Dutch Bros., has moved. The restaurant is now open at 5088 N. Blackstone Ave., in the former Plaza Ventana spot near Shaw Avenue. The empty restaurant is up for lease.

The southwest corner

Kitty corner across the intersection, Papaya Fresh International Marketplace has opened in the former Fresh & Easy grocery, near Rite Aid. It’s got food from all over the world, with an emphasis on Armenian and Mediterranean food. It has a cafe called Shawarma Corner in the back that’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 7:00 AM.

Bethany Clough

The Fresno Bee

(559) 441-6431

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.