I feel like Save Mart kinda forgot they have a store at Herndon & Marks.
I mean, that lighting in the produce section is cool. And it ain’t new.
Read MoreThe Herndon & Marks Save Mart Is A Timecapsule
Category: Retail
Hey! Does River Park Even Deserve Ragin’ Records?
It’s been mixed feelings about Ragin’ Records opening up a place in River Park.
First you’re like “Wait. WHAT!? River Park? But Ragin is, like, TOWER, dude. Metal. Punk. All subculture and stuff!”
River Park is not that.
When River Park went in it was mostly chains and a movie theater. North Fresno. The death of Fashion Fair. Sprawl. A traffic circle we didn’t get.
It was exciting and new, but no heart. Felt like it shouldn’t be.
Over the years it has evolved. Either by design or by necessity it is maybe a little more local – at least the core is.
Teazers. Barrelhouse. Coney Island Me&Ed’s. That place that used to be the sports bar. You know, stuff like that.
It feels more Fresno and I don’t know how to describe it to you more than that. Maybe it has just been there long enough.
So I guess after you work it out, it is okay that River Park has a Ragin’ Records now. Especially since it is in the parking garage (which makes it totally punk).
I’m getting soft in my old age.
Joshua Tehee and I have a good discussion about this on this month’s Flowing With Famous.
Memory Map: Shaw & Blackstone
A new blog series where, in a crudely drawn map format, I write down memories and random thoughts about a Fresno intersection.
I am trying to keep a record for myself and maybe jog a memory or two for you.
Good luck trying to read my sloppy and quickly drawn map of the intersection of Shaw & Blackstone (Or do you say Blackstone & Shaw?).
Anyway, with the exception of the current Heroes Comics, Rocket Dog, Electronic Billboard and Vineyard Farmers Market, the map is all old references.
- The old convenience store at the Vineyard was a great place to get baseball cards that weren’t Topps.
- Nothing compares to the old conversation pit in the Peppermill bar.
- I can’t remember the name of the sporting goods store my old step-grandad worked at.
- I miss both locations of Plaza Ventana.
- I miss all the Wavelengths too.
- When that Electronic Billboard went in it was like “Oh we’re big-time now?”
- Bring back Circuit City please.
- That video store is gone now, right? It’s the only store in town I ever noticed having a “red door” for the adult section.
- How and why is there still an empty lot right next to a freeway and on a major street!? One of those kind of property owners that just sits on it forever, hoping to make some huge payday, I assume.
There you have it. My first Memory Map post. I would like to think I’ll get better at the map part, just wanted to get this up before I talked myself out of it.
Feel free to share your memories or home made maps in the comments or on Twitter.
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The Problem With The New Costco Site Is Only Everything
Costco wants to move its West Shaw location to a currently vacant field at Herndon & Riverside. And they want to manipulate Herndon to do it. It seems the West Shaw location is too small for them.
Oh and in case you are still a little foggy on where Riverside Drive and Herndon is at:
If it’s THAT big of a problem for them on West Shaw. If it needs so much space. If we need to move and change things. Then, well, maybe it shouldn’t exist at all?
Or at least take the vacant old Super Walmart space just to the East of the current Costco Shaw location, if you ACTUALLY simply need more space.
I respect that Costco (has the reputation amongst the industry at least) of treating their employees better than most of the grocery and retail industry does. Many consider Costco a more ethical company than the Wal-Marts & Targets.
If that’s true, cool. But this is where my like of Costco ends.
Things That Suck About Costco [Old Man Rant Alert!]
- It’s too damn big. All of it. The store and items.
- They sell a whole buncha of junk. Junk that
I shouldn’tnobody should buy. - The fucking parking. Both the NE Fresno location and West Shaw suuuuuck to get in & out of – they should be on this list. And yes, part of the reason they want to leave West Shaw is the bad parking but you know damn well the new place will end up being a shitty lot too.
- They charge you annually for the privilege of shopping there (sucker).
- Too many different things happening; poultry, books, TVs, optometrist, a giant bag of iceberg lettuce, all under one roof. It’s unsettling.
- Lines. Long lines to wait in to give them your money.
- Buying in bulk isn’t always the best value.
And another thing, shouldn’t we be focusing on vacant locations in Fresno becoming residential or a park anyway? There are very few largish open spaces left in the city and the immediate thought is “Hey, let’s get a Costco in there!”
Oh and hey, like, aren’t big box stores on their way out? Amazon killing all the retail and stuff? And if not, won’t Costco come along one day and find that the new Herndon spot is also too small for them?
Let’s not forget what that area, including the small community of Herndon, has had to endure
The traffic is already a mess. I know, I go through there at least twice a day on my commute. Add a Costco with its gas station and then probably a little strip mall with a check cashing place next to a liquor store and a Subway, and it will be a disaster.
That doesn’t even include the many-times-a-day a Union Pacific freight train comes through. And when it does it backs up traffic for three light cycles and that’s with NOTHING currently in the lot that Costco wants to use.
Plus, it would be a waste for a city run golf course, Riverside, to have their third hole looking at the back of a Costco warehouse (with dumpsters and idling 18-wheelers), instead of housing or a green space.
I imagine the city will push it through because taxes or whatever. Not sure how to stop it. Just let the record show I said the new Costco on Herndon will be trash.
Does Fresno Have A Great Grocery Store?
I don’t know that we do.
Let’s just pull Save Marts off the board. Don’t get me wrong; they are workhorses. I’m thankful for them. It’s where I do the bulk of my shopping. But I am not aware that any of them are “great” stores.
Yes, you can drop the Wincos and Pack-n-Save and anything with “bargin” or “outlet” or “dollar” in the title. They are trash, but can serve a purpose for a neighborhood so I will at least give them props for being in areas where nobody will go.
And no, Costco is not an everyday grocery store. It’s a nightmare.
Vons? Well, I do like Vons and as a former employee, I am partial to them. But fuck them since they completely left the western side of Fresno. (I miss the Blackstone, First & Tulare and Marks & Shaw Vons greatly)
Every city seems to have a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe’s and a Sprouts. I am not going to count those since they are out-of-the-region chains. I haven’t even been to the new Trader Joe’s (wrong side of 41 for me now, bro). Drop them.
We are whittling it down here now.
The Tower Market? No. It serves the neighborhood, props for that, but nah.
The Vallarta on Clinton & 99? Maybe. I have not been in there, I am embarrassed to say. So I cannot accurately give it a call either way. For the sake of finishing this post and using firsthand feedback, I am going to say that it is good but not great.
Unless I am missing something, we are left with The Market at Herndon & West. Is The Market a GREAT grocery store? …
[rubs forehead and thinks]
It’s… you know, it’s… well it’s GOOD. Good but not great. So I guess Fresno does not have a great grocery store. Case closed.
Hit me up on Twitter if you feel otherwise.
Inspiration for this post:
Fix Your Broke Ass Door, Jeff Bezos
It’s been, like, two weeks, Whole Foods Fresno. Two freaking weeks I had to walk around to your main entrance instead of walking through this now dysfunctional door.
That extra walking? Not planned!
Like, 20 seconds each way. Since I have had to do it twice, that adds up to 80,000 seconds. Stop making me walk. I already couldn’t park in MY SPOT in the parking lot and now I have to do extra walking. Torture.
Maybe you can search on Amazon for “sliding door parts, retail” or something…. oh wait, would you like to change that door to a Barn Door style? They love that shit on the home-flipping shows:
Question: Does Whole Foods have to pay for Amazon Prime to get free shipping or is that a company discount thing?
How about just searching for a local door guy. Let’s look together:
We have a few possibilities but we may need to find a specialist. These seem like glass dudes. Well, I guess we’re both screwed.
I dunno, man, since Amazon bought Whole Foods, been pretty bad. Rinky dink. Next thing you know you’re going to run out of ranch dressing.