New restaurants and a whole new shopping center coming to this Fresno/Clovis corner
Already home to one of the most popular new restaurants in town, the corner of Willow and Shepherd avenues is about to get even busier.
The corner — once farmland with a railroad passing through — is adding more restaurants, and construction will soon start on a new shopping center across the street.
With Willow as the dividing line between the two communities, the developments straddle Fresno and Clovis.
The northwest corner, called The Row at Heritage Grove, in Fresno houses Saizon, a restaurant that opened in December and books up on weekends well in advance.
It’s also home to Ampersand Ice Cream (with long lines sometimes forming out the door), Revival 23, a Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, gift and floral shop Flora Flower Co. and more.
Two new buildings are currently under construction on the same corner.
And diagonally across the street, on the southeast corner, a new shopping center with homes, offices and retail space called The Avenue is about to be built.
All are part of a project by the Heritage Development Company. That’s a partnership between two big farming and packing families in town: The Parnagians and the Ricchiutis.
Enzo’s Table
To prepare for construction of the new center, the store Enzo’s Table has moved across the street to The Row, near Flora Flower. Run by the Ricchiuti family, the store is known for its award-winning olive oil and foodie gift baskets.
It also carries the farmers’ peaches, plums, nectarines, nuts, and fresh vegetables grown in a garden near the packing house on a third corner.
The former Rosetti’s Biscotti House, once run by a cousin, has been brought under the Enzo’s Table brand. The cookies are now sold at the store.
Enzo’s Table often attracted crowds for the food trucks it hosted. The trucks are sticking around on the corner until the end of July or so when construction starts.
There’s a plan in the works for what happens with the food trucks next, but details can’t be shared just yet, said Vincent Ricchiuti, a manager with Heritage Development Co.
“I will have new and fun information on where those are going,” he said.
More restaurants
At The Row, Saizon, a blend of Napa Valley and Mexico City cuisine, has been mostly reservation only. It recently started accepting walk-ins when it has availability.
The restaurant is run by Brandon Smittcamp, who owns The Lime Lite, and Kevin and Rema Koligian. The trio also own restaurants Heirloom, Butterfish and Mayd Modern Mediterranean.
The partners are planning another business on the same corner. The yet-to-be named cafe and bakery will be located in an existing building, on the west side of the center, Ricchiuti said.
Smittcamp declined to comment about plans for the business, saying it is still far from opening.
The business is still in the permitting phase, Ricchiuti noted.
“I’m hopeful by the end of the year they’ll be serving coffee, but no promises,” he said.
The Habit Burger Grill is going into the stand-alone building that’s under construction near Willow Avenue.
The restaurant is expected to open around the end of the year, or during the first three months of 2024, according to the company.
A local, high-end tea shop called Drip will also move into that building.
Another building is under construction on the Shepherd side of the center. That one will be home to a medical spa, and possibly a women’s boutique, Ricchiuti said.
The Avenue
The new center across the street will be similar to The Row. It will have about 256 apartments, 12,000 square feet of office space and about 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurants.
So far, no leases have been signed, though the developers are in talks with several businesses, Ricchiuti said.
“We’re hoping to have a flagship restaurant” near Enzo’s when it moves back home, he said.
He’d also like to see another restaurant, a gym and other fitness-related businesses open in The Avenue.
Once they break ground, construction is expected to take 18 months, he said.
“We’re obviously really excited about what we’ve done at The Row,” he said. “Now having Enzo’s Table here, our own family has literally a front row seat at the exictement that is The Row and The Avenue is the next chapter.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 8:38 AM.
