This empty theater on Shaw Avenue in Fresno is getting new life. Here’s who’s moving in
The Broadway Faire theater by Regal Cinemas on West Shaw Avenue has sat empty since it closed in 2022.
But it’s about to have new life.
It has new owners and work on the building is underway, with a new business gearing up to open inside.
J Stone & Cabinets is taking over the space.
It’s a kitchen and bathroom store and wholesale supplier selling flooring, counters, cabinets and more.
The building sold in late December for just over $6 million to a related Bakersfield-based company, property records show.
The 5-acre property with a 43,000-square-foot building is being remodeled in stages.
To start, the front lobby and concession area are being turned into a showroom, said Aaron Jiang, a representative of the company.
“That whole area will be a full-on showroom with kitchenettes, countertops, flooring,” he said.
It will be open to the public as early as next week, he said.
The theaters will eventually become part of the store as well, once permits to level out the floors that once held stadium-style seating are approved, he said.
J Stone has a showroom and a distribution center in Bakersfield, and another location in Visalia.
The store is on par with Floor & Decor, the flooring and remodeling store near Highway 99 and Herndon Avenue, he said, though that one is about a third larger.
Life after theaters
Broadway Fair at Shaw and Valentine avenues opened in 1996 under the United Artist name, with 10 screens and 2,800 seats.
The company never said why it closed the location, but it was likely tied to its bankruptcy. Its parent company had struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former theaters can be challenging to sell, mostly because their slanted floors need to be leveled out for other uses, said Zack Kaufman, a senior president vice president at real estate firm Colliers in Fresno, and the agent who handled the sale of the building for the buyer and the seller.
“That’s one of the main challenges — especially to an investor,” he said. “It has to be purchased for the right price.”
When the Regal IMAX theater in River Park was moved into the main theater, the former IMAX spot was turned into a Kids Empire, a family fun center with an indoor playground.
The Fresno J Stone location will be a step up from its other locations — less of an outdoor warehouse and more of an indoor showroom and store.
It’s a good fit for the former theater, Kaufman said.
“They’re growing,” he said. “I think Aaron has a really good vision. I think it’s a market — the Central Valley — that has a lot of opportunity.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 1:01 PM.
