Downtown Fresno Dining
by joessteakhouse
January 24, 2007
January 24, 2007
**This article appeared in today's Life section of the Fresno Bee....**
By Joan Obra / The Fresno Bee
01/24/07 04:20:51
A couple of years ago, downtown Fresno was on the verge of a dining expansion. New lunchtime restaurants were launching, and a few were tackling dinner despite the lack of area residents, regular nightlife and limited parking.
Among the new foods were coffee, pastries and smoothies from Cornerstone Coffee Co.; barbecue and Armenian specialties from Cheker's Melting Pot; steaks and burgers from Joe's Steak House; sandwiches, hamburgers, pasta and pizzas from The Olive Press; and Irish dishes such as colcannon, shepherd's pie and boxty from Fagan's Irish Pub.
Back then, folks such as Carrie Fagan-Davis were confident.
"I've always been very adamant that if you build it, they will come," she told The Bee in March 2005.
A couple of years make a lot of difference. Fagan's shut down earlier this month, and last week's auction of its equipment and décor ended speculation that the business would reopen.
Fagan-Davis shared what she considered the reasons for her pub's demise in a widely circulated e-mail. Theft, customers' insistence on cheap food prices, DUI checkpoints and the city's failure to prevent some parking tickets "by mistake" or address "a misconception that downtown is not safe" all contributed to the shutdown of Fresno's biggest Irish bar, she wrote.
Does Fagan's closure signal a troubling trend among downtown restaurants? Or could it be that her complex operation — a bar, restaurant, music venue and lounge complete with television, backgammon and checkers — was too big, too fast for downtown Fresno?
The experiences of other restaurants and bars offer mixed answers. Some restaurants that started out small are slowly offering more services and entertainment. Parking problems vary according to location. At least one restaurateur seconds Fagan-Davis' opinion that food prices need to stay low. Others disagree. And as for the feeling that downtown isn't safe, some say that perception is changing.
"People would mention [questions about safety] four or five years ago, when they weren't as familiar with downtown," says Upstairs Downtown owner Sharon Alexander. In recent years, "nobody's mentioned that. … A lot of our customers are repeat customers."
Alexander, now in her seventh year of running the high-end restaurant at P and Inyo streets, says she sees only one problem in her area: some graffiti that takes place during spring and summer breaks from school.
As for Upstairs Downtown's parking problems, they got better after the city rolled back meter-enforcement times. A few years ago, customers had to refill meters until 10 p.m.
"We haven't had customers complain since it was bumped back to 6 p.m.," Alexander says.
Even with these improvements, she has had a tough time keeping the restaurant open. Dinner business was so slow last summer, Alexander briefly switched to lunches. She also sent an e-mail to customers and friends "asking if they had any ideas on how to survive," she says.
Folks suggested packing her stage with more live entertainment.
"Taking on dinner theaters and entertainment, that would be overwhelming," she says. "Something will suffer, and I've always made it my philosophy not to let the food suffer."
Full Circle Brewing Co. on F Street near Ventura Avenue has a different philosophy. After operating for a couple of years as a winery and brewer, Don Anderson and Bill McCrory installed a tavern and welcomed lots of live entertainment.
There have been some safety and parking issues, Anderson says, but the city government has addressed both.
The alley behind Full Circle used to attract illicit activities, but the city stopped that by gating it off. The city also painted diagonal parking lines on the street in front of Full Circle, thereby creating more stalls in a smaller space, Anderson says.
The company also is expanding on a couple of fronts. Its Cluster Fuggle Cream Ale now is bottled and sold in stores, and an outdoor renovation will add a beer garden as early as this spring. Anderson plans to host an arts-and-crafts market in the garden in May.
Other restaurants are banking on bars and live entertainment to boost foot traffic, especially at night.
At night, "it's just like a ghost town down here," says Tony Williams, owner of The Olive Press in the Virginia Hotel at L and Kern streets. He's working on adding live entertainment to draw more customers to his wine and beer bar.
The lunch crowd is good, he says. Customers come in for old-fashioned cheesecake, a dessert much lighter than the New York style, Williams says. The Philly cheese steak sandwich is the most popular dish. Pizzas, pastas and sandwiches round out the menu.
Parking hasn't been an issue, he says, since patrons work in the area and walk to the restaurant.
He gets a few customers at night, when swing-shift workers from the Internal Revenue Service come in.
Joe's Steak House is similarly empty in the evenings.
"Unless something is going on downtown, we're very, very slow," says Maribel Anaya, co-owner of the restaurant on Van Ness Avenue between Kern and Inyo streets.
Grizzlies' games help, bringing downtown diners who are fond of burgers. Concerts, such as Toby Keith's appearance at Chukchansi Park in September, draw crowds looking for steaks, Anaya says. Conventions also bring in customers.
But the going is tough. The restaurant, which opened in May 2005, has yet to turn a profit, she says.
In the next few weeks, Joe's will try to increase dinner traffic by keeping its wine bar open. The owners tested the bar during banquets and found it to be successful, Anaya says. Her next step is to bring in live entertainment and host open-mike nights.
"We actually own the building," says Anaya, who also operates real estate, bookkeeping and tax-preparing businesses with her husband, Joe Anaya. "We bought it without the idea of doing a restaurant. But tenants couldn't make the restaurant work. When we lost the last tenant, we decided we were going to have to try to do it ourselves."
She hasn't faced some of Fagan's problems. Joe's is next to a parking lot. And no one has complained to her about Joe's prices, she says. They range from $7.95 for the lunch buffet to $26.95 for the T-bone steak. The most popular steak is the rib eye, priced at $24.95, she says.
Other restaurateurs, such as Ken Patterson of Cheker's Melting Pot, wouldn't dare price food that high.
"Downtown is basically $7 and below," Patterson says. "You've got to do a lot of volume to make money downtown. … Everybody's on a budget down there."
Cheker's, on Tuolumne Street north of Fulton Street, is closing at the end of the month. The owners had hoped to expand their deli and catering company in downtown Fresno, but the space next door was rented to another tenant, Patterson says.
"It's unfortunate," he says. "I'd like to stay down there."
Cheker's biggest problem in its downtown location is lack of parking.
Customers "drive by and if they can't find [street] parking, they will drive by a second time. But that's it," Patterson says. "Basically, my employees, we get a lot of parking tickets."
The new restaurant, at the northeast corner of Shaw and West avenues, will have a parking lot. Called Fahrenheit 5104, the restaurant and beer-and-wine bar could open as early as mid-February, Patterson says.
It will feature a range of foods similar to Cheker's: Cajun cooking, barbecue, comfort food and Armenian specialties. Expect to see gumbo, jambalaya, potpies, macaroni and cheese, hummus and the spiced Armenian meats soujouk and bastirma, Patterson says.
Despite all of these struggles, there's one restaurateur who believes enough in downtown to take on a second business on Fulton Mall.
Cheryl Kraushaar, owner of the Caffe Fulton Coffee Co., is taking over what used to be Candy's Mexican Restaurant. Kraushaar will turn it into a pizzeria and Italian eatery.
"We'll serve lunch and dinner," she says. She also hopes to install a beer-and-wine bar and have live music on Friday and Saturday nights. The opening date is not yet set.
Kraushaar, a board member of the Downtown Association of Fresno, says she hasn't had problems with food prices, parking or misconceptions about safety at her current business. Parking isn't an issue, since her customers walk over from their nearby offices. Lunches are priced at just under $7. And since downtown workers are familiar with the area, they don't seem to be concerned about walking the mall — especially in the daytime.
With restaurants' experience so varied downtown, Kraushaar would love to start a dialogue with Fresnans.
"What does Fresno want to see with our downtown?" she asks. "People talk, but what do you really want?"
The reporter can be reached at jobra@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6365.
Enlarge this image
Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee
Upstairs Downtown has kept its doors open for seven years, but it hasn't been easy. Safety concerns and feeding parking meters no longer are major concerns, but graffiti is sometimes an issue.
Enlarge this image
Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee
Lisa Taylor delivers lunch to Lawrence Walls, left, Robert Rose and James Motta at The Olive Press.
Enlarge this image
Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee
Upstairs Downtown's Sharon Alexander rejected the idea of boosting live entertainment to increase business. "Something will suffer, and I've always made it my philosophy not to let the food suffer."
Enlarge this image
Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee
Dawn Peverill, left, and Annette and John Smurr drop by The Olive Press for lunch. Owner Tony Williams says the lunch crowd is good, but at night, "it's just like a ghost town down here."
Search Archives, or
News
Sports
Business
Life
Entertainment
Calendar
Blogs
Opinion
Obits
Classifieds
Cars
Homes
Jobs
Shopping
Contact Us
Text Only
Site Map
RSS
Subscribe
Advertise
FresnoBee.com
ClovisIndependent.com
VidaEnElValle.com
SierraStar.com
FresnoFamous.com
Get Out
é Copyright 2006 The Fresno Bee
Help
Your Privacy
User Agreement
Child Protection
»
Star Trek overboard
I know your just kidding (I hope) about the star trek stuff, however I think your right on the money with your idea. Fresno needs something unique and different. Right now the plan is to put the Fresno Loop Highway and a new River "El Rio" in down town Fresno to change things up. This has already been done. San Antonio, TX has these 2 items for years. I believe we need something that is different enough to be noticed over other cities but usable and needed for our target demographic population in the central valley. We need to realize that the people who live here will be the patrons and their needs and wants will drive the future of the valley cities. We can add some crazy additions to down town to get it growing like river park, but we have to plan this very carefully like you would any expanding business. Build the wrong things, and you risk bankruptcy and have wasted time and money. Build what we want, and it might take off. Again, you have to consider more than just down town. The surrounding housing and industrial zones play a huge part with down town Fresno. Build a huge 1 million story beautiful "Tump" hotel/condo downtown, and as people look out of the windows towards a poverty stricken neighborhood and rundown factories and people more than likely will not be signing any mortgage papers. Things to think about. In Fresno's case, I personally do not believe "If you build it, they will come". If you add what people want first, they might start coming slowly though.
that settles it
i'm going today for lunch
Old Fresno Hofbrau closing too
Today or maybe tomorrow will be your last day to rekindle memories at the Old Fresno Hofbrau. It is also closing.
City Hall
So it's a spaceport? Wow, thought it was the ship. Love the name change: best ever!
Transit meetings are weekly, time changed from 4 to 4:30 beginning February 1.
P.S.
change the name of P Street by City Hall to "Galaxy Way"
Star Trek
& now to 'Star Trek', why can't we do something so out-there, so futuristic, audacious, that it'll make people think? who says that we can't declare ourselves an "intergalactic spaceport city"?? I mean, we do call our airport "Fresno Yosemite International"?, when, up to recently it wasn't very 'international' & it's still not 'Yosemite', anyone know any tours, plane or helicopter rides originating form FYI? Proves my point, so, why not change that to FYIS? (Fresno Yosemite Intergalactic Spaceport).
why? To be the first, to invite inventors here, to invite aliens (see if they're really there?), to put ourselves so out-on-a-limb, that we need to put up or shut-up.
Up until the Creative Fresno Initiative, past City Councils hadn't done anything futuristic since the Fulton Mall, art, etc…
So, this City Council could set up rules, laws, travel lanes, height limits & speed limits, plan for the future, all to look sort of like the "Jetsons"? or "Futurama"? or "5 Element"?
http://www.moller.com/
Establish 3-d driving schools (well, ok, I mean video arcades like "the last starfighter"?)
We already have a spaceport landing site, right in front of the City Hall, it's disguised as a water fountain.
http://explorer.altopix.com/uploads/sftz41.jpg
http://www.fahcc.org/images/hphoto_cityHall.jpg
you're funny
I used to open my speeches or presentations with, "friends Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, oops! wrong speech"
But seriously, people that are really interested in the future of Fresno, need to get involved, meet there, lend money & support
every thurs or every other?
a ps
Orcaoid, there is also a private entity that is moving the transit solution closer. That entity has it's own mission that involves issues beyond Fresno, and some local.
Commoner, the cost of building a rail system is very expensive.
mantra transit
Oh, well there is someone from Creative Fresno: I'z a member, I've already recouped my annual membership fee by winning the door prizes. Next I want Andy to buy me a lotto ticket.
There is a group that is very concerned about transportation in Fresno which has been meeting weekly for the past couple of months. The overall mission is to seek out new civilizations and go where… oh that was a different mission, sorry. Slight glitch.
Transportation is essential for developing the area's pattern of growth and is vital for what Fresno is going to look like in a few years. Fresno began as a large City and can once again obtain its status of destination location. How? By implementing a new technology transit system that envelops land use to build a mobility network that allows easy access throughout the entire area; Fresno becomes a model community with an efficient automobile alternative. It's not like there is some new weird gizmo or a large fleet of techno devices. Simply study an old picture of downtown Fresno and analyze what was going on there with its planning. The buildings were built to maintain high population density and it had a transit system.
Apparently, I must say this again: there will be no revitalization of downtown Fresno without addressing the mobility component. Transit has to happen throughout the area for the urban sprawl to even begin to slow down.
The meetings are generally a discussion group talking about what is going on with the transportation industry. The common interest is in how to implement an efficient transit system in Fresno. Are there people from Creative Fresno attending these weekly meetings? Yes, also transportation entities and the meetings are for anyone that is interested enough to attend; it's not as though the meetings are private or secret . Thursdays, now at 4:30pm in the 2nd floor conference room at the TW Patterson Building, Downtown.
I'm simply one of the attendees.
OPEN MEETING
are you talking about an open meeting to discuss this?
There is a lot going on in Fresno, but not everybody knows or talks to the others, we need to use this site as an open forum, so:
Does anyone know if someone from Creative Fresno, 1000 Friends of Fresno, or some other group is planning something on the transportation issue soon?
gimme a rail and i give you my car
I'd go downtown a lot more if I could take a rail car to get there.
personally?
I paid the guy the ten bucks, went in, ate pretty decent food that was really overpriced, had an insanely rich dessert,
-and mom and I got to remark about an incredibly grumpy and nasty man (who I think may be some sort of local celebrity,) who had a beautiful wife at the next table.
(She was also way too young for him.)
Mom had a good time.
Mission Accomplished.
Next time?
I'll wear kevlar and walk.
(I live right next to the joint.)
-beyond that?
I'm putting monster truck tires on the F250 next week.
(...import cars make the coolest little popping noises when you park on top of them, just like bubblewrap...)
-though when you get a Large American Luxo-barge?.... -that's resting on comfort and style, fer sure, bubba...
(heh heh heh.)
-have I wished you a happy new year yet?
This Vicadin is like the touring with the DEAD all over again...
addressing the issue
It seems that all of the comments can be condensed into one solution: transportation. Call it the mobility component or the ability of people to be able to get from one place to another easily.
From every story there is whether it's Downtown dining, closing of Fagens, getting busted for DUIs, air pollution, disappearing farm land, and every environmental concern it is all about transportation.
Today I was studying some pictures of Downtown Fresno during the late 30s. I noticed that the buildings were large and Fulton Street was narrow. Less than ten cars were parked on Fulton Street in front of the Patterson Building, studying the picture it became obvious that there was insufficient space to park for the capacity of the building. The eight story building wasn't designed to provide a place for people to park. Oh yeah, it was built on a fully accessible street car system during the 1920s that didn't require people to own a car.
So here is a question to anyone paying attention: what would you do with a solution? Would you invest in a solution? Would you work on the solution by spending time with it? Would you help design ways of implementation? Would you invest financially to reap a profit with the solution installation? Or would you continue to bitch about the problem and do nothing?
a little note regarding Fashion Fair
...while Mom was out visiting, she fell for Cheescake Factory. (Good food, pretty pricey, but good food.)
-Finding parking anywhere near the restaurant was a real problem.
-Finally we just forked out the 10.00 to the Valet, (who said it was, like, half that, if we got our ticket stamped,)
---but the only restaurant that they would honor a stamp from was the restaurant next to C.F. (NOT C.F.)
(So... no cheap deal there.)
-Most of the parking spots around both restaurants were being 'coned off.' by the Valet guys (for them to use,) as folks were pulling out, (this was both by C.F. ---and the other restaurant.)
Ugly business, I tell ya.
NO PARKING
just to emphasize the real problem Downtown, see below:
Cheker's, on Tuolumne Street north of Fulton Street, is closing at the end of the month. The owners had hoped to expand their deli and catering company in downtown Fresno, but the space next door was rented to another tenant, Patterson says.
"It's unfortunate," he says. "I'd like to stay down there."
Cheker's biggest problem in its downtown location is lack of parking.
Customers "drive by and if they can't find [street] parking, they will drive by a second time. But that's it," Patterson says. "Basically, my employees, we get a lot of parking tickets."
until Fresno does something about the horrendous 'lack of parking' problem, Downtown will always have a hard time reaching its own potential
let me remind you all, that this is CAR CRAZY CALIFORNIA, almost no one will go to place that is inconvenient to park or drive to, until sticker shock weans them from this addictive, destructive behavior, called "driving".
RiverPark, Fashion Fair, etc…, all have free parking, they will always be 1 or 2 up on Downtown because of that, change the rules & you change the game, like offering free parking
The City has to forgo its "give them parking tickets, revenue stream" fix, to make Downtown more appealing & therefore make up for it in higher business & sales taxes.
That "2 hours free parking" experiment they did 3 years ago failed, because they did not take into account, that people that already worked there would take advantage of that parking, because most did a "2 hour tango", where every 2 hours they moved their cars to the next stall to avoid a ticket, thus using most of the available prime spaces
Post new comment