What’s happening at West Coast Sourdough? Restaurants rebrand in Fresno, Clovis

West Coast Sourdough opened its first Fresno location in 2021 and quickly set off on spreading across the Valley.

Within two months, the regional chain of franchised sandwich shops had announced the opening of three additional locations and a move into Clovis, where it would eventually operate two separate restaurants. Shops also opened in Madera, Porterville and Visalia.

Soon, there may be just one West Coast Sourdough remaining in the area.

In March, franchise owner Raj Singh began separating his businesses from the company and rebranding some as Cali Rays Sourdough Deli. That includes the locations in Porterville and Visalia, and in Fresno on Brawley Avenue and in Clovis on Willow Avenue.

Two additional restaurants (one in the River Park Shopping Center and a second on Herndon Avenue in Clovis) are in the process of rebranding, Singh told The Bee in an interview on Thursday. A third, on West Shaw Avenue, is operated by a different owner. It will remain West Coast Sourdough.

A lawsuit and company turmoil

The rebrandings follow a period of change at the 6-year-old company.

In 2024, the company parted ways with founder and then-CEO Kay Uppal.

Uppal said that he was fired while on vacation, and then he was pushed out of the business he built.

In late February, Uppal filed suit against his business partners, claiming they breached fiduciary duties and diverted corporate assets for the benefit of their families while keeping him from seeing corporate records. The suit also claims the company has not entered into lawful agreements with some franchises and that it abdicated its “quality-control and policing obligations,” leading to “substandard products, unsanitary conditions, inconsistent service, and other deviations,” at its restaurant locations.

“These deviations have caused, and continue to cause, actual and threatened consumer confusion, dissatisfaction, and loss of confidence in the West Coast Sourdough brand,” according to the suit.

Before his departure, Uppal oversaw franchise operations and was responsible for contacting and recruiting new potential franchisees, many of which were in the Central Valley.

Singh signed his original franchise deals with Uppal and saw a difference in how the restaurants were treated by the company following his departure. “After he was gone, the company was going down and down,” Singh says.

A rise in food costs, a slowing of sales and a lack of any engagement with the company eventually led him to start rebanding his shops. The company has since tried to retaliate against his remaining restaurants, Singh says, by giving unwarranted refunds via Door Dash, among other things.

West Coast Sourdough does not list contact information on its website and attempts by The Bee to reach corporate leaders were otherwise not immediately returned.

New products, prices

Aside from the name change, Cali Rays Sourdough Deli stays with the original concept of soups, sandwiches and flatbread (and also salads), but with a slightly expanded menu (including wraps) and a change in price.

It’s, “better sandwiches and pricing options.”

The Cali Rays favorites are offered at two price points, Singh says, with larger portions of meat. Some of the house sandwiches (think pesto chicken, turkey and salami) saw a price drop of 70 to 80 cents. Online and mobile customers will also find discounts by bypassing third-party services like Door Dash and ordering directly from the restaurant website, he says.