Fresno mall shares big changes. The future of empty Forever 21, other prime spots
Fresno’s busiest mall is making some big changes.
Fashion Fair on Shaw Avenue has already started a renovation that will change its look with new seating, flooring and more.
But when it comes to the mall, Fresnans always have some of the same questions:
What’s going to happen to the empty Forever 21 store (the former Gottschalks)? Is Jollibee restaurant ever going build a restaurant at the mall? And when is Seoul Meat Korean Barbecue going to open?
We have answers.
First, expect to see lots of work happening on the 55-year-old mall. The brown ceiling has already been repainted white. Remodeled restrooms are coming along with lots of changes to the main entrance.
“There will be areas of our shopping center that will look drastically different,” said general manager Joey Elliot.
Will Gottschalks be torn down?
Ever since the three-story Forever 21 store on the east end closed earlier this year, shoppers have been speculating about what will replace it.
Writing on the side of the building teases something new: “Get ready for a gamechanger ... Seriously, we can’t wait to tell you what’s coming next.”
But you’ll have to wait because the deal isn’t finalized yet, Elliot said. No lease has been signed, but the mall is deep in negotiations with a potential tenant, he said.
“Everybody wants to know and it is killing me to not say it, but I can’t,” he said. “There is a very spectacular tenant that is working with us on that building, but it does involve razing that building.”
For years, that location was a Gottschalks department store, and a Weinstock’s before that. If the building is torn down, the mall and the new business would build something new in its place.
A deal is very close to being finalized, Elliot said.
What about Jollibee?
Jollibee, the hugely popular Filipino fast food restaurant, caused a stir when it filed permits with the City of Fresno to build a location in front of the mall in 2021. It made even more plans on paper a few years later.
But nothing was ever built on the spot.
This week, Elliot confirmed plans for Jollibee are dead. The restaurant pulled out of the deal, he said. Jollibee did not return a message seeking comment about why.
But Fresno hasn’t seen the last of the global chain fast-food restaurant. It announced this week it is planning a major expansion in the Central Valley and “zeroing in on Fresno as one of its most promising growth markets.”
It is looking for locations to open, though it has not shared if any have been identified yet.
Seoul Meat Co Korean Barbecue
Another highly watched part of the mall is the Seoul Meat Co Korean Barbecue restaurant that’s coming soon.
It’s a Korean barbecue spot where customers cook their own meat at the table. Seoul Meat has locations in Kirkland, Wash., and Riverton, Utah.
It’s taking over a spot in the outdoor portion of the mall near the main entrance. It was originally supposed to open last year.
That didn’t happen, but the restaurant is getting close. Seoul Meat could not be reached for comment. But Elliot said the restaurant is working through final inspections, and owners are hoping to be open by the end of the year.
