More restaurant closures in Fresno, Clovis: ‘The average small guy is being squeezed out’
The steady trickle of restaurants closing their doors continues in the Fresno area.
At least four more restaurants — ranging from a sushi spot to a Mediterranean restaurant and juice bars — have closed in recent months. They join other closures that The Bee recently shared, including locations of Foster’s Freeze and Baskin-Robbins closing, along with longtime favorite Hunan Chinese Restaurant’s high-profile closure.
Restaurants close for all kind of reasons. Sometimes the owners retire. Sometimes the lease is up and they decide it’s not worth continuing. Recently, many owners have complained about the rising cost of food, employee pay, energy bills and an inability to get over financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic closures.
Here’s a look at who’s closed recently.
Jugo
Jugo Salad & Juice Bar has closed all three of its locations: in Fresno at Milburn and Herndon avenues and Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue, and in Clovis at Herndon and Fowler.
Owner Lewis Everk also owns The Woodward American Grill, Vyxn Restaurant and Lounge, and runs Sunset Nightclub in the Tower District. Those businesses will stay open.
He’s closing the Jugo locations for several reasons.
He’s moving his focus to Nashville, where he’s planning to develop some businesses. Minimum wage is lower in Tennessee — and he said that’s a factor in his decision — but that’s not the only reason he wants to get into business there.
“The deciding factor is the growth in Nashville, the opportunity in Nashville,” he said. “I love Fresno. I’m for Fresno, but I’m always for growing the business.”
The same challenges facing the restaurant industry as a whole are also hitting the Jugo locations: The growing minimum wage and insurance costs, and the rising cost of food and other goods and services. Many customers are also once again repaying student loans after a pause, leaving less money in their pockets for going out.
“The average small guy is being squeezed out of this business so viciously by the cost of goods just shooting through the roof,” he said.
The Jugo locations also didn’t have full kitchens, and he couldn’t do everything he wanted to do there, including offering more healthy foods.
To that end, he’ll open a revamped version of Jugo, called Rise AM Cafe, inside The Woodward. The Woodward will still keep its brunch menu and serve dinner, but from 7 a.m. to noon, the location at Friant and Fort Washington roads will eventually also offer breakfast burritos, bagel sandwiches, salads, and coffee.
Yolo Sushi
Yolo Sushi Bar & Karaoke opened in 2015 on Kings Canyon Road in the Asian Village Shopping Center. Like the name implied, you could sing your heart out, drink the night away and chow down on sushi and other foods for dinner.
The owners announced in late September on Facebook that it had closed. They could not be reached for comment.
According to other social media posts, there’s an effort to reopen it with different owners.
The yolo name was a reference to the phrase “You only live once.”
Pita Grill
The Lebanese restaurant near Fashion Fair mall at Shaw Avenue and First Street has been closed since late October.
Pita Grill was a former Verizon store that was converted into a Mediterranean restaurant specializing in Lebanese cuisine. It served beef and chicken shawarma, falafel, and made its hummus in house.
The owners of Pita Grill did not say why the restaurant closed. In a message via Instagram, a representative said the restaurant was “temporarily closed” but did not provide any further details when asked about a possible reopening.
Reinvent Juicery
The little juice bar between CVS and The Vault Fine Jewelers in Fig Garden Village has closed.
The juice and smoothie bar that also sold acai bowls has now closed all three of its Reinvent locations in Fresno and Clovis.
