It’s official: Foster’s Freeze in Fresno since ’76 closing to make way for Starbucks
The fate of the Foster’s Freeze restaurant near Palm and Bullard avenues in Fresno has been up in the air for months as Starbucks filed paperwork to open a coffee shop in the rented building.
Now it’s official: The Foster’s Freeze will close.
One of the franchisees who owns this Foster’s Freeze and several others in town said Thursday that he’d received notice that the fast food restaurant must leave.
Its last day will be Wednesday, Aug. 30.
“We’re thinking that it’s almost going to be a party,” said Don Beiderwell, with so many people planning to stop by and wish them well.
The City of Fresno has approved the conditional-use permit Starbucks filed to majorly remodel the existing restaurant into a Starbucks and add a drive-thru.
The lease for Foster’s Freeze had expired months ago, and the restaurant was operating on a month-to-month lease. The restaurant has been at the site since 1976.
“It’s David versus Goliath, and Goliath is going to win this one,” Beiderwell said.
The landlord declined to comment to The Bee.
The commercial business market has experienced some turmoil in recent months as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. While landlords cut tenants lots of breaks on their rents when restaurants were suffering during the height of the pandemic, times are moving on.
As leases expire, some landlords are raising rents to market value, an increase that not every business can afford.
Neighbors had plenty to say about the switch from the nearly 50-year-old Foster’s to a Starbucks, Beiderwell said.
“I had several people call me and tell me they wrote letters and said, ‘We don’t want another Starbucks.’ ... Which was, frankly, very nice of them to do. Thank you,” he said.
He said he doesn’t blame the city, noting that it’s not the city’s job to pick and choose which business ends up on the spot. But that the Starbucks simply met the criteria for the conditional-use permit, he said.
Foster’s does not plan to move to a new spot as Beiderwell said earlier they couldn’t find a suitable location.
The restaurant is down to 10 employees. The manager will retire and some workers intend to move to the restaurant’s other locations in town, he said. Some entry-level employees intend to find other jobs, he said.
“It’s kinda sad for me. It’s been a long run,” he said. “I feel awful that we’re giving up a store we like that’s run so well for so long, but it has been a run long and we’re treating our staff well.”
