Downtown Fresno coffee shop temporarily closed due to strike. Dispute over tips, hours
Employees at downtown Fresno’s Fulton Street Coffee have gone on strike and closed the shop.
The coffee shop, in one of the buildings next to Warnors Theater, is known for its role in helping to revitalize downtown Fresno. It has been at the corner of Tuolumne and Fulton streets for several years, and recently expanded.
On Sunday night, workers said they planned to close the coffee shop Monday. They posted an “Open letter to dearly loved Fulton Street coffee customers” on an Instagram account called Better Coffee. It was signed by five employees.
There, they complain about a “severe degree of neglect in maintaining a humane, equitable, and stable working environment.”
The letter mentions changes to time sheets to avoid paying overtime, issues with heat in the cafe, unfair agreements for additional labor, power shutoffs and “a culture of fear, favoritism, and bullying.”
There was also a disagreement over displaying a Pride flag.
They also said tipping options were recently altered on their payment system that they suspect will lead to less take-home pay.
Food Mood Kitchen, which provides pastries to Fulton Street Coffee, said it will not be supplying the coffee shop while workers are on strike.
The bakery said in a letter it posted on Instagram that its business vision includes humane treatment of workers and a thriving wage.
“Consequently, I cannot in good faith continue to supply pastries to Fulton Street Coffee when the workers have gone on strike to address unfair labor practices as well as ongoing unaddressed concerns,” Food Mood owner Roxanne Villaluz said.
The Bee contacted Food Mood about its decision, but the owner was not immediately available.
Fulton Street Coffee workers are seeking return of the previous tipping system, fixing of hazards in the cafe and repairs mandated by the Fresno County Health Department.
They also want to close one day a week or to hire additional staff so each worker can have two days off per week.
Neither the owners nor the employees could immediately be reached for comment.
The workers also say they want to buy the business and turn it into an employee-owned cooperative. It’s a move they say would resolve the dispute.
The coffee shop has at least three partners, including founder Omar Octavio Vargas, who has often been the face of the business. He is involved in several other businesses and has already agreed to step down from day-to-day operations, according to the letter.
The other two partners could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 12:54 PM.
