More restaurants are closing, from a big north Fresno spot to a downtown coffee shop
The steady march of restaurant closures in Fresno is continuing, and it has no regard for cuisine or location.
Three more locally owned restaurants are shutting down: a favorite downtown coffee shop, a Filipino restaurant, and an eatery in a prominent north Fresno building. All are in different parts of the city.
They join several others that have closed in recent months, including the third Fosters Freeze in the area to close, a Vietnamese and ramen restaurant, and an Italian restaurant in the Tower District whose owner declared he would “never open another business in Fresno.”
Although each restaurant has its own story to tell, they face many of the same pressures. All are facing expenses that put a dent in restaurateurs’ bottom lines, including the rising costs of food, real estate, employee pay and energy bills.
But it’s not all bad news in Fresno. At least three local restaurants are in the process of expanding to second locations, The Bee recently reported.
But here’s a look at three we’re saying goodbye to this week.
Fulton Street Coffee
The owner of this little coffee shop said that he opened the location because he believed in downtown. It opened in 2018 near the corner of Fulton and Tuolumne streets, in part of the Warnors Theatre complex.
Now the coffee shop is closed — but something new is in the works.
Fulton Street Coffee posted on its Instagram that it’s “permanently closed.” A tiny sign on the door says, “Closed for construction. See you soon!”
Owner Omar Octavio Vargas did not immediately return messages from The Bee.
But something new is already in the works in the spot. The Fulton Coffee Instagram page hints at a “new project at 2011 Tuolumne COMING SOON!”
It appears to be a new coffee shop under new ownership, according to Nicole Owens, executive director of the the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts, which rents out the space.
The Fulton Street Coffee owners are selling their business “to a couple of their dedicated employees who want to take over,” she said.
Construction work is underway — a worker was busy inside with paint, ladders and more Monday — and it will likely have a new name, she said.
Vargas, who had his eye on Fulton Street before it reopened to traffic, roasted his own beans and steadily expanded the business over the years.
But it was not without bumps. The pandemic took a toll, so he built a to-go window and got dinged for making minor modifications without a permit. The business temporarily closed when workers went on strike last year, citing neglect in maintaining a humane and stable workplace. The owners eventually reopened it themselves.
Blast & Brew
The Blast & Brew on Palm Avenue near Herndon closed several weeks ago.
The owners, who also own Me-n-Ed’s locations, did not return several calls and emails seeking comment about why it closed.
The large building is up for lease.
Many Fresnans may remember the prominent spot as the Italian-American Piazza Del Pane restaurant by the same owners, Milano Restaurants. After years in business, that location closed during the pandemic (though the Cedar Avenue location is still open).
The company reopened the spot in 2022 as a Blast & Brew, with 26 self-serve beer taps.
Eight Blast & Brew locations are still open statewide, including one in Old Town Clovis.
Boba Silog
After more than five years in business in north Fresno, the restaurant serving Filipino food and boba drinks will close next week.
Boba Silog opened with a splash at Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue, in the same shopping center as Five Restaurant.
It announced on its Instagram that it will close Sept. 22 in farewell letter to customers.
“We are lucky and blessed to have our past and present employees to help us through the years. We have endless gratitude to all of our loyal customers who entered our doors,” said the letter, signed by owners Liberty and Jacque Abesamis.
Its closure means one less place to get Filipino food in Fresno, which already has only a few places serving it. Tapsi, the Filipino spot downtown, also closed.
Fresno still has a few places to get food from Phillipines, including Jowli’s Filipino Cuisine, Bread and Butter bakery, and PhilHouse inside the Island Pacific Seafood Market.
This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 12:54 PM.
