Here are the top 10 businesses Bee readers want in Fresno and Clovis. Will they come?
Oh, Fresnans, you love to dream.
The Bee asked you what businesses you wanted to see open in Fresno and you responded with hundreds of answers.
From retailers to restaurants and entertainment options, we received a huge variety of responses from readers.
Some are a bit pie-in-the-sky and unfortunately will probably never open here. But there’s a very good chance some will.
Some, in fact, are already looking for locations here.
So, in addition to sharing the top 10 responses, we decided to take a look at how likely they are to open here. We talked to local retail brokers who help companies find locations, did some digging to find out the companies’ expansion plans and reached out to the companies themselves.
Now, keep in mind that the business landscape is different than past years. The financial blow of the COVID-19 has many businesses (especially big retailers) skittish about expanding, although they’re still doing it.
And it’s worth noting that not every entry in our poll was a chain, though they got more votes because they’re familiar names.
Other businesses Fresno wants: A Jewish deli, more vegan and vegetarian restaurants, a British pub and more restaurants serving halal food.
But as for the chains, here’s what we found about whether they’ll come to Fresno.
Most requested restaurants and stores
1. IKEA
The low-cost Swedish furniture retailer topped the list. It may seem to Fresnans that we’d have the perfect spot for a store, given that people from around the San Joaquin Valley flock to Fresno to shop and there’s a distribution center south of Bakersfield.
But, we probably don’t have enough people to attract a store, said retail broker Mark Saito of Mark Saito Co.
“IKEA might have a problem here because our market is not big enough, even though we’re getting there,” he said.
IKEA doesn’t publicly share its requirements for opening new stores, but plenty of websites say the furniture giant wants a minimum of 2 million people.
Fresno has about a half a million, with the county at just over a million.
2. Cracker Barrel
This one is interesting because the Tennessee-based restaurant and store once planned to open a location in Fresno, and signed a lease for the Marketplace at El Paseo near Highway 99 in 2017. But something happened and the location never opened, the company opening in Victorville instead.
Would the company consider Fresno again?
Probably, said real estate broker Ron Stumpf of Stumpf and Co.
“Demographically, they could justify it,” he said. “I’m surprised they’re not here already.”
3. Nordstrom
Fresno has a Nordstrom Rack, but not a full version of the upscale department store.
Would it ever open here? That’s going to be tough, said Saito.
“Fresno doesn’t have that type of spendable income,” he said.
Department stores were already hurting before the pandemic as people bought clothes online. Coronavirus shutdowns during 2020 were a big financial blow, pushing some into bankruptcy.
Now, Nordstrom’s growth plans call for expanding the range of prices at Nordstrom Rack and focusing on its online business, not opening new stores.
4. Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s has two stores in our area, one in Clovis and another at Friant Road and Fresno Street.
Some central Fresno residents have never forgiven the popular grocery store for moving to the north side of town. And residents on the west side of Fresno say they would love to see a Trader Joe’s near them, perhaps on West Shaw Avenue or near Herndon Avenue and Highway 99.
Trader Joe’s is steadily opening new stores, but mostly in cities where it has no presence.
Trader Joe’s responded directly to our questions about the likelihood of a new store for Fresno.
“While we are flattered to hear that Fresnans would like to see another Trader Joe’s in their community, an additional Fresno store isn’t in our two-year plans,” a A Trader Joe’s spokesperson said via email.
It said the company grows very slowly and intentionally compared to other retailers its size, and constantly re-evaluates locations, “so a new Fresno store may very well be something we consider further down the line.”
5. Shake Shack
Not to be confused with the Steak & Shake that opened and then closed in southeast Fresno, Shake Shack is a fast food place is known for its burgers and milkshakes. It’s got more than 160 locations nationwide, with several in Southern California, the Bay Area and two in the Sacramento area.
It’s also on an expansion kick, aiming to open 45 to 50 new locations in 2022, especially in suburban areas.
Could it come here?
Here’s what commercial real estate broker Veronica Stumpf of Stumpf and Co. had to say.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” she said. “Fresno is a big metro area. If they’re going to be elsewhere in California, why not Fresno? They’re missing out on a perfect demographic.”
6. Crate & Barrel
The home decor, furniture and gift store carries everything from custom couches to pumpkin-shaped baking dishes.
It has nearly 100 stores in the United States and Canada, including several in Southern California, the Bay Area and one near Sacramento.
“Demographically, they could justify it,” said Ron Stumpf, noting that Fresno has around 550,000 people, with well over another 100,000 in Clovis.
7. Dunkin’
The coffee and donut shop formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts really wants to open in the Fresno area. There are locations in Hanford and Madera and franchisee Aharon Aminpour of Madison Food Management has an agreement with the company to open shops in our area.
“We want to be there,” he said of Fresno. “You heard it from the franchisee’s mouth, we’re really looking for locations to open a Dunkin’.”
He’s negotiating on an unnamed spot in Fresno and looking in Clovis too, he said.
The problem? He’s having a hard time finding the right spot.
Since restaurants with drive-thrus in prominent locations thrived during the pandemic, there’s not many available right now, he said. He’s also having difficulty finding land to build on.
To the point where’s telling people contact him if they have an appropriate space available.
“We’re been trying to turn over all kinds of stones,” he said.
8. The Container Store
The store sells storage for everything from clothes to food and has a thriving custom closets business.
As to whether it would ever open here, that’s tough to predict.
With more than 90 stores nationwide, the company said it expects to open just one store in its 2021 fiscal year.
It’s got 13 stores in California already. The CEO, formerly of Sephora, has said a store-within-a-store concept is coming (perhaps similar to Sephora’s presence here inside JCPenney and recently, Kohl’s).
9. Golden Corral
Fresnans have long wanted this buffet restaurant to open in Fresno. A company vice president told The Bee in 2019 that the company is working with a franchisee here and would “absolutely” have a location in town.
The coronavirus pandemic may have delayed those plans, but Golden Corral is still planning on a location in the area, according to Steve Rontell, a retail broker with Colliers who represents the restaurant.
He said they will be “aggressively” looking for a location in Fresno in “post-Covid 2022” with a possible opening in early 2023.
10. Sweet Tomatoes
Oh Fresno. Sweet Tomatoes is gone, and it’s not coming back.
Our last location on Fresno Street closed last summer, along with every Sweet Tomatoes in the country.
The chain’s parent company couldn’t survive the pandemic. It went bankrupt, closing all its 97 restaurants (including Souplantation locations) and auctioning off all the contents of its restaurants.
This story was originally published October 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
