Fans were heartbroken when this bagel shop left Fresno’s Fig Garden. Now it’s coming back
Uncle Harry’s NY Bagelry & Coffeehouse closed its Fig Garden Village location in Fresno in 2017, leaving its regulars heartsick.
They said it was so much more than a bagel shop: A hangout. A community spot. A place where regulars gathered, sometimes daily.
Now it’s coming back.
The bagel shop is slated to open later this year next to its original location. Construction has started in the former Cowboy Chicken spot, next door to Uncle Harry’s old spot, which is still occupied by the Paper Source store.
Uncle Harry’s is scheduled to open in the spring. It still serves bagels and coffee, though it has amped up its bagel sandwiches and blended coffee and tea drinks in recent years.
Uncle Harry’s closed its location there after 18 years when its lease expired and the two sides couldn’t come to agreement on a new one. A sign on the door at the time said the shopping center at the time had preferred a national tenant instead of a mom-and-pop shop.
Wayne Rutledge, who owns the bagel shops with wife Rena, said he didn’t set foot in Fig Garden Village for a while, but a daughter who loves the center’s Lululemon store reeled him back in.
He wandered over and saw the spot next to his old space was available. He knew there was a different group of people involved in leasing this time around.
“The people I was working was with were different; they were much more gracious to work with,” he said. “Fig Garden is a special kind of shopping center. It’s been special over the years. It’s been a real place for local people to go.”
Rutledge also remembered the huge outpouring of emotion when they closed the location and knew he could connect with those people again.
“We did good before and there’s reason to believe we could do good again there.”
Its opening will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the celebration of the bagel shops.
Uncle Harry’s that car crashed into reopens
Another location, at Cedar and Shaw avenues, made headlines last week when a car crashed into the business. Five people were injured when a driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake.
That shop reopened Tuesday.
Uncle Harry’s also has locations at First Street and Herndon Avenue, Marks and Shaw avenues, and in River Park.
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 11:55 AM.
