Raising Cane’s, Dutch Bros, more chain stores and restaurants coming to Fresno neighborhood

People in southeast Fresno have often grumbled about wanting more stores and restaurants in their neighborhood.

Finally, some big names are in the works.

Several national retailers and restaurants are in various stages of opening locations, from a coffee giant to a national fried chicken chain and a big grocery store.

Most of the development is headed for Kings Canyon Road (which the Fresno City Council is currently debating renaming Avenida Cesar Chavez) or nearby on Clovis Avenue.

Although there’s some debate over whether this is type of growth residents want, several companies are moving ahead with plans.

One franchise, Crumbl Cookies, has opened.

The baker of giant cookies opened in early March at 570 N. Clovis Ave. That’s near Starbucks, north of Kings Canyon Road.

Several other businesses have signed leases and are gearing up to start work that could take a year or more to complete.

And some are still in the planning stages, possibly still negotiating leases, though public officials are talking about them coming.

Here’s a look at what’s coming and when.

Raising Cane’s, Dutch Bros

Some big changes are coming to the Kings Canyon Pavilion shopping center that houses the 99 Cents Only store, at the northwest corner of Willow Avenue and Kings Canyon Road.

Both fast food drive-thru restaurant Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and Dutch Bros Coffee, also a drive-thru, have signed leases to open in the center.

Between the COVID-19 pandemic and waiting on permits, the timeline has taken longer than expected, said Patrick Wood last month, founder of Wood Investments Companies, Inc., which owns the center.

Both will be stand-alone buildings near Kings Canyon.

Raising Cane’s will likely be the first to start building.

Construction is expected to start this summer, with an opening planned for early 2024, according to a representative of the restaurant.

Dutch Bros will come later. Development is still in the early stages and the coffee company does not appear to have filed any permit applications for work there yet.

Also in that same center, the former Fallas discount clothing store is empty, but Wood said a national business is interested in taking over the spot.

He declined to identify the company.

Tractor Supply

The national retailer that’s part hardware store and part agricultural supplier (and also sells live baby chicks) is planning to open a store on Kings Canyon.

Tractor Supply Co. will build a new store at 5674 E. Kings Canyon Road, on the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue, behind Javier’s Mexican Restaurant, confirmed a representative of the company.

It won’t open until 2024, possibly in February or March.

Burlington, Ross, more

Big changes are in the works for the northeast corner of Kings Canyon and Clovis Avenue, behind DiCicco’s.

Burlington and Ross are headed to the shopping center, according to permit applications filed with the city. The corner was home to Orchard Supply Hardware before it closed.

Plans call for demolishing part of the existing center, building 8,920 square feet of new retail space, and keeping another 16,000 square feet as is.

America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses is also headed to the center, according to permits filed for work on an existing building.

Fancher Creek

This 29-acre development is on the east side of Clovis Avenue at Tulare Avenue. It’s been in the works for years and is being developed by Lance-Kashian & Co., the same company that owns River Park.

The new road and a parking garage are the most tangible signs of activity so far, though it will eventually have housing — including 376 live-work units — offices, a movie theater, retail and restaurants.

Last month, the project broke ground on Sarah’s Court, an 120-unit affordable apartments complex.

It will have two shopping centers, one on either side of Tulare Avenue.

Grocery store Sprouts is the first retailer to sign a lease in Fancher Creek Town Center, the developer announced back in September. It will be located in the southern part of the center, close to the canal.

Construction is expected to be finished and the building turned over to Sprouts this fall, with the store opening sometime after that.

More retailers and restaurants will follow. Just who exactly isn’t nailed down yet.

A representative of Lance-Kashian declined to comment on what other businesses are headed to the center. That may be because they haven’t finished signing leases yet (and until a lease is signed, deals can fall through and businesses can back out).

But Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez has said on Facebook that Target, In-N-Out, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A are part of the development.

Chipotle said it did not have a planned location on the site. Chick-fil-A said that while it would “very much like” to have more restaurants in the Fresno area, it had no new locations to confirm.

In-N-Out said it hopes to open there and it’s in the early stages of the permitting process, but it’s too early to say when or if it will.

Target did not respond when contacted by The Bee.

Starbucks

A Starbucks is slated to be built at the southeast corner of Kings Canyon and Chestnut Avenue.

It will be on the site of what is now an empty tire shop that will be torn down between Foods Co. and Chestnut Avenue.

At just 1,000 square feet, it will be a drive-thru only location.

It could open in December or early next year.