Latest news with #Fresnans
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Heading to Yosemite? How to eat like a Fresnan on your way there
Yosemite National Park's tourist season and its waterfalls are about to be at peak flow. And if you're making the trek there — on a busy day when reservations are needed or not — you're going to need to fuel up. Whether you're just driving through Fresno, spending the night at a hotel here, or you live in Fresno and are taking a little staycation, we know all the popular places to eat out. So if you want to eat like a Fresnan for a day, here are a few restaurants to choose from. Some serve foods that Fresno does best, such as tri-tip and Mexican food. Others are popular for good reason. And some are just perfect for refueling after a hike. In no particular order, here's a sampling of delicious options our city has to offer. 1. Heirloom. Fresnans line up for this food. The north Fresno restaurant serves seasonal, local farm-to-table food from one of the best chefs in town. But it's not upscale dining. It's order-at-the counter, cafeteria-style dining with a patio. Or, if you want to avoid lines, you can order online, pick up at the take-out window and take it back to your hotel room. The menu, which changes seasonally, features sandwiches, burgers and pasta with a fresh twist, and salads loaded with local veggies. Some highlights: The tri-tip sandwich, the cashew cauliflower and the Surf N Turf. There are cocktails that also incorporate local produce, along with beer and wine. Details: Heirloom is at 8398 North Fresno St. in the Park Crossing Shopping Center, and open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, except for Sunday, when it closes at 8 p.m. 2. Sam's Italian Deli and Market. This deli and market is another eatery that Fresnans are extremely loyal to. It's ranked on list of Top 100 restaurants nationwide. It has hot and cold sandwiches, and also sells deli meats and cheeses, desserts, salads — including potato and macaroni — and hot prepared foods such as chicken Parmesan. It's got portable market items too, including lots of wine, crackers and other snacks. Sounds like a Yosemite style picnic, doesn't it? The sandwiches are the star of the show here, including top seller Sam's Special, made with ham, mortadella, turkey breast, dry salami and Jack cheese for $10. Order online or inside the busy store. Details: Sam's is at 2415 N. First St. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. 3. rock 'n' roll-themed breakfast restaurant started as a food truck and turned into one of Fresno's favorite eateries. It's got one location now and a whole opus of creatively named breakfast dishes. The menu is available by QR code on your phone, featuring breakfast and lunch. You can find a simple breakfast, such as the Eggman, an omelet with meat, veggies and cheese. But where Benaddiction really shines is the indulgent breakfasts: Try The Hotel California, an eggs 'Benaddict' made with chorizo hash, avocado and eggs. Or maybe the Kokomo, pancakes infused with rum-infused pineapple and topped with housemade salted caramel. The hash browns are also a favorite, made with potatoes shredded directly into the deep fryer. Details: Benaddiction is at 10063 N. Maple Ave. Open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. 4. Country Fare Cafe. If you want to get a taste of hearty Mexican food and are willing to brave the underbelly of Fresno that doesn't have a chain business in sight, check out Country Fare Cafe. It's a hidden gem with bars on the windows, parking that is frustratingly mysterious and it only takes cash or credit cards — no debit cards. But the food here gets great reviews — and they serve you so much of it, it will likely be spilling off your plate. Some highlights: The enchiladas, the chile verde omelet and its huevo divorciados — two eggs on separate sides of the plate — one smothered in chile verde, the other in chile Colorado — with potatoes, beans and tortillas in between. Details: Country Fare is at 4662 E Belmont Ave. Open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. 5. Ampersand. This homegrown ice cream shop has three locations in different sides of town. And it is not just an ice cream shop. No, it's like an entire art school only had ice cream as its creative outlet and came up with every imaginative flavor they could. Seasonal flavors change monthly, but have included agave matcha, hazelnut coffee cake and a Pimm's cup sorbet. The standard flavors are always on the menu and include whiskey caramel swirl and honeycomb, along with dark chocolate and vanilla. Gluten free and vegan options are available. Lines sometimes stack up, but they move quickly. Details: Ampersand has locations in central Fresno's Tower District, northwest and northeast. Click here for addresses. Open noon to 11 p.m. daily. 7. Sal's Mexican Restaurants. Sal's is a legacy in the Fresno area; the family named Restaurant Royalty by The Bee last year. It's more of a sit-down dining experience than a taqueria. Its Fresno location is at Fresno Street and Alluvial Avenue, with other locations in Madera and Selma. The family-run restaurant has birthed other restaurants from the multiple generations behind it, including the Bobby Salazar's restaurants and Lucy's Lounge cocktail bar. At Sal's, a highlight is the fancy burrito, which was once voted Fresno's most famous dish in a Fresno Bee poll. It comes with beans and chili con carne in a large flour tortilla and lots of melted jack cheese (though you can get it with chile verde or half and half too). Details: The Fresno Sal's is at 7476 N. Fresno St. and open from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sundays through Wednesday and until 9 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Details about other locations here. 8. The Dog House Grill. If you're looking for two things that Fresno gets really excited about — tri-tip and the Fresno State Bulldogs — this is your place. It's a noisy, good-time place with a bar and sports on TVs. Smokers out front cook 400 cuts of tri-tip a day — 700 on weekends. The tri-tip comes on sandwiches, salads, and on a single huge taco that could be a meal in itself. It's across the street from Fresno State and is the place to celebrate big wins after sports games. But take note of one down side: Its parking lot is tiny and there is almost never a slow period here. Be prepared to park creatively. Take out is always an option.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blackbeard's was nearly torn down. Now, plans include a soccer stadium for Fresno
Juan Gerardo Ruelas Jr. had been on a real estate hunt for the better part of three years when he stumbled on the perfect location for his family's next project. He'd seen hundreds of potential sites throughout the central San Joaquin Valley at that point. Dozens were almost (but not quite) viable. None of the proposed deals happened, including one that would have had them take over Selland Arena and Valdez Hall in downtown Fresno. In the end, it was a nearly 50-year-old amusement park in central Fresno that did the trick. 'The main thing is that it was properly zoned,' says Ruelas, whose family purchased Blackbeard's Family Entertainment Center from Glad Entertainment Inc. in October with the intent of razing the property and building Fresno a long-awaited soccer-specific stadium. The deal mostly went under the radar. 'Nobody realized,' says Ruelas, who also managing partner of Fresno Fuego FC. 'In fact, people still don't know.' That's because things haven't changed much at Blackbeard's since the Ruelas family took over. A row of pinball games got swapped out for newer, trendier claw machines, but otherwise the 10-acre amusement park — with its three 18-hole miniature golf courses, indoor arcade, batting cages, go karts and bumper boats —operates much as it has for years. And they don't intend to change that anytime soon, though the original thought was to tear down the park and put up a new development to accompany the soccer stadium. 'It was pretty apparent within a couple of days: There's a lot of people who come here and really enjoy it,' Ruelas says. Blackbeard's opened in 1977 on 15 acres on the Chestnut Avenue diagonal just south of Ashlan Avenue near the Fresno airport. It was a $2 million project that happened in two phases. The first included the installation of two miniature golf courses, a main arcade building crafted to resemble a pirate ship, and a sit-down snack bar. It opened with more than 100 arcade games. 'Pinball wizards and electronic game aficionados will think they've died and gone to heaven,' The Fresno Bee wrote at the time. Over the next two years the park added another golf course (this one Western themed), batting cages (something new for Fresno at the time) and a six-lane water slide, which longtime Fresnans will remember as being rough on the backside. The park earned an early reputation for serving up 'clean cut' family friendly entertainment. According to a Bee story in 1979: 'Blackbeard's exists for the family, for dating duos and kids who would rather play miniature golf or swat a baseball than drag Belmont Avenue or drink beer in the park.' Though the park got sold to new owners in 1984, it outlasted the newcomer competition developing up north. Camelot Park, which eventually became Boomer's, opened on Blackstone Avenue north of Herndon in 1997. The facility was closed (and then demolished) in 2017. 'All this time, Blackbeard's has thrived on family entertainment,' Ruelas says. It never had a bar and never tried to appeal to an older crowd. That fits with the demographic that has come to support the Fuego soccer club over the past three years. 'The Fuego was family entertainment,' he says. 'We want to protect that.' Ruelas does have some changes in mind for the park — removing the defunct water slides for a new electric go kart track, for example — but there are no official plans. Inside Blackbeard's the back offices are still decorated in pirate paraphernalia: trinket swords, pistols and treasure chests. There's an original blueprint of the park, which Ruelas spreads across his desk, to show the property's full 15 acres. There's an empty spot in a corner of the map that was never developed. For awhile, the park operated paintball fields out there, but mostly the large dirt field houses a collection of old shipping containers. 'It perfectly fits the soccer stadium,' Ruelas says. Current plans call for 4,000 seats with the ability to expand out to 15,000 if needed, Ruelas says. It will be soccer specific, but also multi-purpose with the intent to bring other entertainment offerings in the the area. 'It's going to look like a dope stadium.' Having a soccer-specific stadium, or rather not having such a facility, has been top of mind in Fresno's soccer community for nearly a decade. It was the given reason for the relocation of Fresno FC soccer club in 2019. The team played two seasons at Chukchansi Park as a United Soccer League expansion team, with the caveat that it would quickly find a suitable home for a soccer-specific stadium. When that didn't happen, the club left Fresno for Monterey. When the Ruelas family brought back the Fuego team in 2020, it picked up the where Fresno FC left off — trying to find a suitable spot of a stadium. The city and Mayor Jerry Dyer pushed to have a stadium downtown, offering up several locations, including an area that included Selland Arena. There was also thoughts of taking the stadium into Madera, where the Ruelas family owned 45 acres of then-undeveloped land near Valley Children's Hospital. During the search, the team inked a deal that allowed them to play with at the soccer/lacrosse field east of Bulldog Stadium. That lasted until November, when the USL announced a mutual parting of ways with the team following a year of turmoil that included a and league investigation and suspension of head coach Jermaine Jones. For now, the Fuego doesn't have a men's professional team as part of its organizational restructuring. It will be competing in the amateur League For Clubs (The League FC) in the 2025 season. 'That doesn't stop us from doing our original goal,' Ruelas says, 'which is to build the infrastructure.' So, the stadium will not only be home to the Fuego — both its men's program and the just announced Fuego Femenil women's team — it will be open to other teams and programs througout the Valley. The Fuego already has a deal to share field space with Selma FC, Ruelas says. 'We know what it's like to be on the other end of the spoon.' While there is no official timeline on the stadium project, Ruelas is looking at an opening in time for the 2026 World Cup, which is being hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Yahoo
Undocumented workers vital to Fresno restaurants. How much will deportations hurt?
A farmworker picking oranges or grapes is often the image that comes to mind when talking about undocumented immigrants working in Fresno. An estimated 75% of California's farm workers are undocumented — but what about restaurant workers? How much do Fresno restaurants rely on the labor of undocumented immigrants? And what could happen to Fresno's restaurant scene if those workers were suddenly deported? We went right to the source to ask: restaurant owners. 'Restaurants hire undocumented workers every day,' said one owner of three restaurants in the area. 'The backbone of our restaurants are undocumented workers.' It's a topic Fresnans likely don't think deeply about when ordering their ceviche or tri-tip sandwich with garlic aioli. But it's one that could soon affect not just the lives of immigrants, but the dining out experience of the average Fresnan. Restaurant owners aren't comfortable speaking publicly about employing undocumented workers. They don't want ICE busting through their doors and hauling off cooks and dishwashers in handcuffs in the middle of dinner service. So The Bee agreed to talk to six restaurateurs without identifying them or their restaurants so they could speak freely. Some employ undocumented workers. Some don't. But all have worked at restaurants that employed undocumented people. 'That's what makes this issue so challenging: Everyone's so afraid because of the fear of what might happen,' said Jason Leverant, president and chief operating officer at AtWork Group, a national staffing agency that has a location in Visalia. The company does not hire undocumented workers, but competes with companies that do. Several organizations representing local businesses did not return messages seeking comment, including the Fresno and Central California Hispanic chambers of commerce and the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation. The state and national chambers declined to comment as well, along with the California Restaurant Association. So The Bee talked to the employers themselves. Undocumented workers are most commonly in behind-the-scenes roles in the kitchen: cooks, dishwashers and bussers cleaning up tables. It used to be much more common decades ago, but today just how many undocumented workers restaurants employ many varies by location. One owner said 12 of 14 cooks at the company's multiple restaurants are undocumented. Another said chains and franchised restaurants employ mostly undocumented kitchen workers as a way to meet strict budget limits. Yet another said 10% of his staff are undocumented. Some restaurants don't employ any. Workers without proper documentation are often from Mexico because it's so close, but restaurateurs say they have also worked with people from Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. The workers are at restaurants ranging from the most popular high-end places in town to casual mom-and-pop eateries. The restaurants include Italian, Mexican, American and family-oriented chain spots. The owner of the north Fresno Italian restaurant Bella Pasta does not employ undocumented immigrants. He doesn't want the stress of worrying about getting busted by authorities, he said. At age 22, Fabian Rodriguez worked at the Italian restaurant he would eventually own. 'Everyone in that kitchen was an illegal immigrant. We knew it,' he said. Customers had to walk through the kitchen to get to the restroom and the staff was instructed to stop speaking Spanish when they did, he said. About 11 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States in 2022, the most recent figures available, according to the Pew Research Center. That's about 3.3% of the overall population. Of that 11 million undocumented number, 8.3 million people are working — an increase from 7.4 million in 2019, but essentially the same as previous highs in 2008 and 2011. Most entered the U.S. without legal permission or arrived on a temporary visa and stayed after it expired according to the center. The majority of immigrants overall — 77% — are in the country legally, according to the research center. Restaurant owners cited the same three reasons for hiring workers without the proper papers: difficulty finding workers, an ability to pay them less than legal workers and a work ethic they say they can't find elsewhere. All this is happening against the backdrop of a labor shortage, noted Leverant, from the AtWork staffing agency. About 7.6 million jobs were unfilled nationally in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 'The role the undocumented workers are filling are those that are very challenging to staff with documented employees,' Leverant said. One restaurant owner, said that young people ages 16 to 20 who might be expected to fill some entry-level restaurant jobs often struggle, especially in their first job. In restaurants, workers are expected to pivot quickly. A dishwasher can be asked to clean toilets, fetch silverware or wipe tables at a moment's notice, he said. People who grew up here, in a culture where parents try to protect their children from hardship, don't always last very long washing dishes, he said. 'Their work ethic is not really there,' he said. 'I feel like immigrants fill that void so easily because they're so willing to just work. They put their head down. 'OK, I'll clean tables.'' The work is also hard. It is fast-paced and sweaty, with kitchens sometimes reaching well over 100 degrees, and cooks are always on their feet, restaurateurs note. Several restaurateurs said undocumented workers were some of the hardest working employees they ever had. Often, they have families back home, and are sending a good percentage of their paycheck to them. Some cooks work multiple jobs, said the owner of one central Fresno restaurant. 'Those guys are working 80 hours a week and they don't seem to be complaining about it,' he said. 'You send half your paycheck back home, and your family is building a home for you. And you do 10 years here, and you move back home.' The owner of Bella Pasta said he's struggled to find good workers who aren't undocumented. 'We've not hired people on purpose and it kills you because, you are what I need, you are what I want, you are what is going to help me achieve my goals,' Rodriguez said. 'The frustration (is) ... finding people with the experience that are willing to work hard. … It will take a long time.' Despite being the son of an immigrant himself, Rodriguez said he believes in giving high school kids and people who have the right papers a chance, even if it means he has to work a little harder. He fondly recalls a group of Clovis North High School kids he said were the best workers he's had in 30 years. Undocumented cooks at one popular restaurant in town make about $20 an hour. Cooks who went to culinary school, even starting out, typically want $30 or more, the restaurateur said. 'I'm not going to find an American cook that's going to do what I need them to do for $20 an hour,' the owner said. 'They're going to want $40 an hour, but I can't do that because I can't charge $80 a plate.' Several restaurateurs also said undocumented immigrants are more likely to follow orders, where recent culinary grads often want to put their own spin on dishes — something you can't do in longtime restaurants where customers expect the same classic dish every time. Restaurant owners cite concerns over pay in an industry where eateries are struggling to keep their doors open. Last year, 37 restaurants in the Fresno area closed, most citing rising food and labor costs — including a minimum wage that rose to $16.50 an hour Jan. 1 — and astronomical energy bills, climbing rent and other expenses. Still, at least two restaurateurs said they have worked alongside colleagues over the years who they knew were making less than minimum wage. One owner of a downtown restaurant said he once worked with a woman who got one legitimate paycheck paying her minimum wage for some of her hours. Then a second paycheck that didn't play by the rules, including not having any of the taxes, insurance or other expenses employers are supposed to pay taken out. In all, she was making less than minimum wage, he said. 'I'm sure there's a lot that are not getting paid minimum wage,' the restaurateur said. Another longtime chef and former restaurant owner confirmed he's seen workers making $14 or $15, but they often don't stay at the job long. It all depends on the owner, he said. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the best chefs in town are undocumented and making excellent money, he said. If someone is really good, he or she is going to be taken care of so they stay, he said. 'I know a couple people in this industry who don't have papers and they're making bank,' he said. Some restaurant owners told The Bee they knowingly hire undocumented workers. Others said they don't know when they hire someone, and only find out later that their workers are undocumented. As long as an employee has a Social Security number or an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), they can be hired. Some restaurants run their employees' Social Security numbers through an I-9 employment eligibility system (though if a number and name match and are valid, it will check out). Some don't, and there's very little enforcement of using the system, they say. Sometimes the Social Security number is stolen. Sometimes it belongs to somebody's uncle. Sometimes the job applicant has a different name on the application than he does on his Social Security card, restaurateurs said. But as long as the worker has a name, birth date and a Social Security or ITIN, the person can get hired. It's especially easy to hire undocumented people in chain restaurants, said one restaurant owner, where there's several levels of management involved in hiring. Locations are also often saddled with strict budgets from corporate that are most easily met by cutting back on pay. The restaurateurs said workers are usually getting paychecks with the appropriate taxes, workers' compensation and Social Security removed — though workers may never get some of that money back. Deportations are already happening around the country, though few have happened in the Fresno area so far. Although Trump first promised to deport criminals, ICE's own statistics shows about a quarter of the 33,242 people swept up by ICE so far this year did not have convictions or criminal accusations. As time goes on, losing workers from local restaurants could have a big affect on the local restaurant scene and the national economy, said Hannah Archambault, an assistant professor at Fresno State with a doctorate in labor economics. 'Even eliminating a small portion of them is still going to have a significant negative recessionary impact,' she said. 'It's going to slow our economy down.' It would mean less spending at local businesses by those workers, less tax revenue paid to the government, and jobs left vacant, Archambault said. One study she cited shows that prices would rise as fewer workers means less output of goods — from farms or factories — and the gross domestic product shrinks. Specifically in Fresno, several restaurateurs said the situation would be similar to COVID-19 times, when restaurants suddenly wouldn't have enough staff to run a restaurant. They would have to close temporarily, at least — and some permanently. One restaurateur said losing staff on top of all the other challenges the business is facing would be devastating: 'I would probably have to shut down half of my restaurants if I did not have undocumented workers because I would not have the staff.' Replacing those workers with higher-paid employees here legally would cost more. And those costs would be passed on to customers, restaurateurs said. Think $5 for a taco is expensive now? 'Get ready for $10 tacos. Get ready for $20 burritos,' said one restaurant owner. 'It doesn't take much to trigger that.'
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From IKEA to more Trader Joe's, will Fresno ever get its dream stores, restaurants?
Reality Check is a Fresno Bee series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email tips@ Fresno likes to dream big. The list of stores and restaurants Fresnans would like to see come to town is long and varied. We asked Bee readers what businesses they'd like to see open locations in the Fresno-Clovis area and they responded with everything from IKEA (by far, the No. 1 request) to a Dog House Grill with better parking. The survey was inspired by a slew of recent store closures in buildings that will soon be available to rent. All Joann fabric stores are closing, for example. Forever 21 is closing, and will leave the three-story former Gottschalks space at Fashion Fair mall behind. All three of Sequoia Brewing Co.'s locations have closed (though there is an effort underway to reopen them). We asked real estate professionals how likely they think the businesses on Fresnans' wish list are to ever open anywhere in Fresno. First though, a dose of reality: Times are tough for restaurants and retailers. About 15,000 store locations are expected to close in 2025. A long list of chain restaurants are closing locations and filing for bankruptcy. We could see more closures before we see new businesses coming in to those big spaces. 1. IKEA. This was the No. 1 most requested business on the list, getting nearly three times as many votes as anything else. The affordable Swedish furniture store is hugely popular among Fresnans, but most people drive to Palo Alto or other locations in the Bay Area or Southern California to shop. When asked directly if it would ever come to the Fresno area, IKEA sent a vaguely worded statement via email saying that it has no updates to share at this time, though it continues 'to look for ways to expand in the state of California.' IKEA is increasingly opening locations in small cities where customers can pick up items they've ordered (saving hundreds of dollars on shipping heavy items) such as in Boise, Idaho, and locations where they can sit down and plan out a room with an employee. But most Fresnans want a full-fledged store, complete with the walkway winding through decorated rooms and the cafe known for its meatballs. So do the people who know Fresno real estate and whose job it is to lure retailers to town think one of those will ever come here? Depends who you ask. 'I think that's a good example of our market not just (being) big enough,' said Mark Saito of commercial real estate firm The Saito Company. 'There's just not enough growth.' But Lewis Smith, senior vice president of NEWMARK Retail California said that IKEA probably would come — eventually. It's 'realistic' to expect a full-fledged store somewhere within the Fresno/Clovis/Madera market within the next couple of years, he said. 'With the population growth of the Central Valley, I think we could attract a full IKEA,' Smith said. 2. Cracker Barrel. The country-themed restaurant and store almost came here in 2017 after it signed a lease to move into the Marketplace at El Paseo near Highway 99 and Herndon Avenue. But it later backed out when the deal fell through for undisclosed reasons. If it deemed Fresno worthy once, would it be likely to do so again and actually bring its country-fried shrimp and grits to Fresno? If Golden Corral finally came, could Cracker Barrel? Not so fast, said Saito. 'They're not doing very well, chain-wise,' he said. Cracker Barrel closed its Sacramento location last April after six years, along with several others nationwide. The company expects to open just two new restaurants in 2025. Restaurants in California are hurting, Saito noted, citing the general cost of doing business in the state, including the cost of labor and utilities. And when companies are hurting, they're not thinking about opening new locations. 3. Nordstrom. The Fresno-Clovis area has two discount Nordstrom Rack stores, but that's not what locals want. They want a full Nordstrom store with its luxury brands and high level of customer service. But don't hold your breath, Fresno. 'We don't have that huge affluent population that would sustain a Nordstrom,' Saito said. He also noted that Nordstrom is struggling in bigger cities right now. Nordstrom closed its downtown San Francisco flagship store and two of its headquarters offices, reporting a $39 million loss in the first quarter of 2024. Though sales have rebounded, the company is still on uneven ground and recently went private. It did not open any new Nordstrom stores in 2024 and is not planning any in 2025 — only Nordstrom Rack stores. 4. Daiso. This retailer — sometimes referred to as a Japanese dollar store — sells affordable home goods and fun items, including socks, snacks, mugs and more. There's already a Daiso in Visalia (Central Fish Co. in downtown Fresno used to sell the products on its second floor, but not anymore). New Daiso locations are coming to Modesto, Arroyo Grande and Salinas this year. Real estate broker Smith thinks this one has a good chance of opening in Fresno soon. 'I think you'll see Daiso and MINISO stores open within the next year,' he said. MINISO, a similar brand owned by a Chinese company, recently opened a store in Fashion Fair mall. 5. H Mart. This is a popular Asian grocery store with 84 locations nationwide, including multiple locations in the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area. It's often described as a 'cult favorite' and was popularized in the best-selling book 'Crying in H Mart.' Another similar concept store mentioned by Fresnans was 99 Ranch Market. Could Fresno, with a 12% Asian population, attract either? Maybe, said Saito. 'It would be good,' he said. 'I think we could definitely see a 99 Ranch.' But, there are probably better locations the retailers would look at first, with higher incomes and more people that meet the store's demographics, he said. 6. Sweet Tomatoes. This healthy buffet was a favorite of Fresnans when it was open. It closed all its 97 locations in 2020 after its parent company went bankrupt. But like some kind of hardy perennial, Sweet Tomatoes sprouted again when 'raving fans' bought the rights to the brand and reopened its first location in Tucson, Arizona in April. The new owners say they want to reopen more in smaller locations than the original restaurants. But seeing as they haven't gotten beyond opening one so far, Fresnans could be waiting a long time. And it would have to be a new location. The former Sweet Tomatoes spot on First Street in north Fresno has been turned into offices. 7. Topgolf. This is a sports entertainment complex with a bar, restaurant and multi-story driving range. The high-tech golf game involves balls with sensors in them that track accuracy and distance. It's 'realistic' to say that a Topgolf could open in the area within the next couple of years, Smith said. Topgolf already has a location in Sacramento, and several in the Bay Area and Los Angeles — even smaller cities such as Boise, Idaho. 8. Another Trader Joe's. This town loves Trader Joe's. It's got one in Clovis and one almost on the same latitude in north Fresno. Some customers are still salty about the store leaving its centrally located spot years ago near Blackstone and Barstow avenues. People in both Fresno and Clovis said they want more Trader Joe's in the survey. Last summer, the internet was buzzing with rumors based on conversations with employees about a Trader Joe's potentially opening as soon as this year in northwest Fresno. But there's been no indication of any concrete action on a new store there. The company is opening three stores this year in California, all in the Los Angeles area. When asked directly, Trader Joe's told The Bee, 'At this time, we do not have plans for a new store in Fresno.' The company is growing, but carefully. The email in its email referred people to its podcast 'Inside Trader Joe's' and the Oct. 21, 2024 episode, 'ICYMI: How Do I Get a Trader Joe's in My Neighborhood?' The hosts talk about population density, but also how social media campaigns to bring the store to town generally don't have an impact. Saito, from the Fresno real estate company, imagines Trader Joe's is probably at its maximum number of stores in the Fresno area. 'There's two in Fresno, and I think that's going to be the high point,' he said. 'It would be nice (but) ... they're not going to be putting another one in downtown Fresno or Shields and Blackstone.'
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fresno ranks among top 10 US cities for Super Bowl spending. How much do we pay for food?
Are you tuning in to watch Super Bowl LIX in Fresno? The Central Valley city is among the top cities in the nation in terms of Super Bowl spending on food and drinks, according to a new study by Bizinsure. The insurance company ranked the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States based on how much residents shelled out for game-day party essentials. According to the website, Super Bowl costs have increased by 13% — about $25 — since 2024, with the average host spending $215 on food and drinks alone. Miami was the No. 1 city in terms of Super Bowl party spending, the study said, with residents in the Florida city spending $238.22 on average on food and drinks for the big game. Another Florida city, Tampa, came in second place in terms of spending on game day treats, Atlanta was third on the list. As the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 9, here's how much Fresno residents can expect to spend: According to the Bizinsure study, Fresno residents spend an average of $216.35 on Super Bowl party essentials, out of a weekly budget of $1,383. That means an average of 15.65% of weekly spending goes toward food and drinks for the big game. Overall, Fresno residents spend $27.35 more than the average U.S. household on game day snacks, the study said. Fresno has a median household income of $71,897, according to Bizinsure. Here's how much Fresnans spend on individual items, including pizza, chicken, beer and other game-day staples, according to Bizinsure: Loaf of bread: $2.71 Beer: $1.73 1 pound of cheese $4.64 1 pound of chicken: $4 Chips: $7.05 Potatoes: $1.03 Pizza: $25.34 Soft drinks: $1.92 If you're feeding a crowd, costs can add up. Four pizzas cost a total of $101.37 in Fresno, while three bags of chips add up to $21.16, and 30 beers cost a total of $51.90. The typical Super Bowl Party has an average of 17 guests, according to environmental website TreeHugger. These 10 cities spend the most of Super Bowl party essentials such as chips and soda, according to the Bizinsure study: Miami Tampa, Florida Atlanta Louisville, Kentucky Fresno Los Angeles Memphis, Tennessee Birmingham, Alabama Orlando Las Vegas To estimate Super Bowl party hosting costs, Bizinsure analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas based on median incomes and grocery costs for core food and drink items. 'We focused on a simple menu to calculate what hosting means for consumers' wallets, leaving out extras like elaborate ingredients (looking at you, avocado), decorations or merchandise,' the insurance company said. The study used data from sources include Numbeo, Slice of the Union, Treehugger, the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index and the Centers for Disease Control.
