Chain stores in Fresno on the chopping block: Who closed, who’s safe & who’s not

This year has been a rough one for businesses both big and small.

In addition to locally owned Fresno-area restaurants closing, big chain retailers are feeling the squeeze, too.

The JoAnn fabric and craft store closed and was demolished and every Rite Aid store in Fresno shut down.

And the pain may not be over yet.

Many chains are vowing to cut hundreds, even thousands of locations nationwide.

They face many of the same challenges, including shoppers pulling back on spending as they deal with inflation and tariffs. Consumers are also increasingly turning to online shopping instead of browsing brick-and-mortar stores.

Here’s a look at several chains in the Fresno area that could be on the chopping block, some that have already closed stores, and who has avoided the ax.

Torrid: Closing stores

Torrid, a popular plus-size retailer selling trendy clothing, announced in June that it would close up to 180 underperforming stores.

Fresno has a Torrid at Fashion Fair, along with Torrid’s CURV brand store selling underwear and activewear next door. Torrid opened in River Park in January 2024, and Visalia Mall also has a location.

Torrid — one of a few stores around specializing in plus sizes — said the closures were part of its shift to becoming a “more digitally-led business,” saying 70% of its customers shop online. The company’s net sales fell 4.9% during the first quarter of 2025.

As of Sept. 4, the company had closed 59 stores, with 575 stores remaining. The company did not immediately return a message asking if stores in the Fresno would close.

Starbucks: Already closing locations

In late September, Starbucks announced it was closing 1% of its coffee shops. The company is moving away from small stores focused on mobile orders and toward comfortable coffeehouses with soft seating.

Over the weekend, the chain abruptly closed four locations in Fresno.

They include the drive-thru only location at Peach and Olive avenues that just opened in fall 2024.

The Starbucks on West Avenue south of Ashlan Avenue also closed, along with the location on Blackstone Avenue near Bullard Avenue, next to Panda Express.

The Starbucks on Blackstone Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue (which was converted from a Long John Silver’s in 2020) also shut down.

Claire’s: Future unknown

The mall jewelry store was a must stop for teen girls in the 1990s and early 2000s, where many got their ears pierced.

But it’s struggled in recent years, “swamped by a cocktail of problems,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in an email. Debt, tariffs, declining malls and competition from retailers such as Lovisa and Amazon all contributed to the store filing for bankruptcy in August.

Claire’s announced it would close 290 stores and the location at the Tulare Outlets promptly shut its doors. Claire’s also said it would eventually close at least another 700 stores — and possibly all of them.

Bankruptcy filings showed local stores on the closing list, including those in River Park and Fashion Fair in Fresno, Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, Hanford Mall and Visalia Mall.

But then a new owner came to the rescue. A private equity firm bought Claire’s out of bankruptcy and is pausing store closings. The bankruptcy filings were updated, crossing the local stores off the closure list.

But when The Bee contacted the company that bought Claire’s, Ames Watson, it said in an emailed statement that the information in those filings was from an earlier stage of the process. The stores’ futures are still being determined.

“Since the acquisition, store statuses are being reassessed under new ownership, with many decisions tied to ongoing lease discussions. Claire’s priority is to maintain a strong presence in key communities, and the new owners are working closely with landlords to determine the path forward,” it said.

Walgreens: More closures coming

Fresno has already lost one Walgreens — at West and Herndon avenues — and more may be coming.

The pharmacy chain has announced plans to close 1,200 locations total by the end of 2027.

The first round of closures, which totaled about 500 stores, shut down the Fresno store, along with stores in Dinuba and Reedley.

The company has not shared which future locations will close.

Family Dollar: On the chopping block

The extreme discounter has already closed some stores and more closures are coming.

Family Dollar was once owned by the more successful Dollar Tree, until Dollar Tree jettisoned the “rotten apple that was Family Dollar” and its slipping sales, said Saunders of GlobalData in an email.

Before the sale, the parent company said it would close more than 600 stores during the first half of the 2024 fiscal year.

In recent years, Fresno saw the closure of Family Dollar stores at Clinton and Fruit avenues, and at Cedar and Shields avenues.

The company also said it planned to close 370 more over the next few years as leases expired. It did not identify which stores would close.

At Home store: Spared

Things may have gotten scary for fans and employees of the large At Home decor store on Shaw Avuene across from Sierra Vista Mall when the company filed for bankruptcy in June.

It announced plans to close more than 20 locations to deal with its $2 billion in debt. Then it added another six to the list.

But the Clovis store wasn’t among them and remains open.

Several California stores weren’t so lucky. The only At Home store in Sacramento has closed, along with seven other stores in California.

Bethany Clough

The Fresno Bee

(559) 441-6431

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.