Stores, restaurants closing in Fresno area: Rubio’s, Express, Mexican restaurants, more

Closed. Bankrupt. Sold.

These words describe several Fresno businesses that have been struggling to stay afloat in recent weeks. At least eight are closing or have already shut their doors, from local mom-and-pops to big chains.

Often, the story is the same. People are spending less. The cost of everything seems to rising: Goods that the businesses sell, how much they pay employees — including a new law mandating fast food workers earn $20 an hour — energy bills, rent, insurance and more.

It’s not always economics that drives the final nail in the coffin. Sometimes health concerns lead to closures, and sometimes people just want to retire after decades of hard work.

Here’s a look at what stores and restaurants closed recently and why.

Rubio’s

Rubio’s Coastal Grill abruptly closed both its locations Wednesday in Fresno and Clovis.

The Mexican restaurant with fish tacos and seafood has locked up its River Park location. Workers were moving furniture and equipment out of the Clovis location and into the back of a truck Thursday at Herndon and Clovis avenues.

Employees there were telling customers the restaurant closed because of California’s new law mandating a $20 an hour minimum wage at fast-food restaurants. However, the manager and a representative of Rubio’s corporate headquarters declined to confirm that or comment on why the restaurant closed.

As of late last week, locations in Visalia, Bakersfield and others were still open.

Rubio’s operates company-owned restaurants and franchises its restaurants to local owners. It has about 150 locations, mostly in California, and a few in Nevada, Arizona and New York.

Bobby Salazar’s

The Bobby Salazar’s Mexican Restaurant & Cantina on Blackstone Avenue south of Shields has been closed for months. In mid-March, a sign in the window referred customers to the Tower District location.

The Blackstone restaurant was owned by a franchisee at some point before the closure. Neither the franchisee nor business founder Bobby Salazar could be reached for comment about why the restaurant closed.

On April 2, the Fresno Fire Department was called to a fire at the building at 2:15 a.m. They arrived to find heavy smoke and a visible glow inside, said public information officer Josh Sellers.

The damage from the fire was minimal. The cause is still under investigation.

“The fire itself was suspicious,” he said. “It seemed like the fire was in a couple different areas, so that was what was suspicious.”

Salazar’s Grill

Salazar’s Grill & Bar in Kingsburg closed on April 14. The 20-year-old Mexican restaurant decided not to renew its lease after it expired.

A sign on the door said, in part: “Thank you for your support that has enabled our staff family to reach goals and thrive. We are truly blessed to have had a special family of skilled restaurant industry individuals. And equally blessed to have had a classy and civilized customer base.”

An auction was held in late April to sell off items inside the restaurant.

Salazar’s was owned by Henry Salazar and Bob Bethel. Salazar is part of the family that founded Sal’s Mexican Restaurants, though Salazar’s Grill was an independent business. The pair also ran Henry Salazar’s Fresh Mex Grill on Main Street in Visalia before it closed in 2019.

Express

Mall mainstay Express is closing its Fashion Fair store.

The company filed for bankruptcy and announced it is closing “under-performing stores.” The Fresno store will close June 24 at the latest. It may close earlier if it sells out of merchandise, according to an employee.

Everything in the store is on sale, with steeper discounts to come later.

Express was once hugely popular — especially with young women in the 1980s and 1990s — selling trendy work wear and going-out clothes. But critics say the brand has gone “stale” in recent years as shoppers switched to comfortable work-from-home clothes during the pandemic.

Sendai Sushi

Sendai Sushi at Cedar and Nees avenues closed abruptly last month after years in business.

The restaurant, which served sushi and other Asian dishes, was sold to new owners who are bringing in a different type of restaurant.

The couple who ran Sendai could not be reached for comment. But the man who bought the business, Harjinder Singh, said they wanted to retire.

“They worked there for almost 25 years, husband and wife,” he said. “They just wanted to retire from the world.”

Singh, a longtime local resident, is bringing his restaurant, Golden Punjab, to the spot. It opened May 10.

It’s an Indian restaurant specializing in Punjabi recipes, with a lunchtime buffet featuring goat curry, chicken vindaloo, garlic naan and more.

Hallmark store

Margie’s Hallmark Shop at Kings Canyon Road and Clovis Avenue closed May 10 after 37 years in that spot.

The Bee’s story on its last day detailed all the rising expenses that led the owner to close the store his parents founded: Energy bills, rent, employee pay and more.

While those expenses were rising, sales were falling by 20% or 30% for each of the last six months compared to the previous year, said owner Tom Pearce.

“There’s no profit in it. I’m paying to be in business,” he said. “The costs are just too high.”

He held a 75% off sale before closing the business, selling the remaining items to the two other Amy’s Hallmark Shops in town. Both are owned by the Hallmark corporation.

Grandma Jane’s

Grandma Jane’s Kitchen made a go of it for two years in Chinatown, serving chicken and waffles, burgers and more. The little spot on E Street got rave reviews on Yelp.com, but recently closed for good.

Owner and chef Marcial Gonzalez said he closed the restaurant for several reasons.

One was concern for his own health.

But he also blamed the location, overhead costs, the cost of the goods he buys and inflation in general.

We haven’t seen the last of Grandma Jane’s, however. Gonzalez still plans to do some mobile pop-up events.

CHICK N’ BROS

The hot chicken trend in Fresno appears to be cooling off. CHICK N’ BROS has closed both its locations in Fresno and Clovis.

The restaurant with the indulgent fried chicken sandwiches first closed its Clovis location at Peach and Shaw avenues last year (in a sign of the times, it was replaced by the next big food trend, smashburgers at Hammy’s Smashburgers).

Now the CHICK N’ BROS at Clinton and Cedar avenues in Bulldog Plaza has closed.

The owners could not be reached for comment about why. But they are continuing to run the Halal Bros Mediterranean restaurant in the same shopping center nearby.

A new restaurant is already gearing up to take over the former chicken spot at Bulldog Plaza called Thai Taste.