People line up at the counter to try the food at EggBred, located in the shopping center southeast of Willow and Nees, a fast-casual restaurant concept that specializes in breakfast and brunch sandwiches.
CRAIG KOHLRUSS
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
Fresno’s food and retail scene had plenty to talk about in September — from a bagel shop debut where the manager stepped out to hug customers to an egg-themed newcomer that ran out of gravy on opening weekend.
On the retail side, a half-century-old family nursery announced its final chapter, a 24-hour gym claimed a long-empty Clovis storefront, and Target quietly swapped out one of its beauty partnerships.
Below, the top retail stories readers followed most this month — with links to the full reporting from The Fresno Bee.
New openings and old favorites
The month leaned heavily on breakfast. Three of September’s most-read stories tracked eggs, bagels and pancakes — and where to get them at hours that don’t require setting an alarm.
EggBred’s grand opening scrambles to keep up 
Various sandwiches from EggBred, located in the shopping center southeast of Willow and Nees, include a Scramble Me Softly, top, a Ben Franklin served with hollandaise sauce, and a country fried chicken sandwich served with country sausage gravy. EggBred is a fast-casual restaurant concept that specializes in breakfast and brunch sandwiches. The concept was started by Albert Shim, a chef and former Chopped contestant. The Clovis franchise owner is Varinder Singh. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com
A warm welcome to new egg-themed Clovis breakfast spot brings lines out the door
EggBred at 1127 N. Willow Ave., Ste. 105 in Clovis planned a soft opening. The crowds had other ideas. Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua showed up with a certificate of recognition, and owner Varinder Singh — a first-time franchisee — spent 10 straight days behind the line. “We weren’t ready for this kind of love,” Singh said. The scratch kitchen sold out Saturday and closed early.
Posh Bagel debuts in Fresno
Bagel shop opens its first Fresno location. You might know the people behind it
Posh Bagel opened its first Fresno shop at 2940 E. Nees Avenue, Ste. 103, managed by Goretti Almeida — formerly of Le Parisien Cafe. The team proofs and bakes bagels on-site, with jalapeno cheddar, asiago, pizza and pesto leading sales. Coffee comes from Fresno-based Supreme Bean. “Goretti has worked extremely hard,” said owner Justin Henry, who also runs the Loving Seed juice bar brand.
Five spots serving breakfast all day
Want pancakes, eggs anytime? 5 unexpected places in Fresno that serve breakfast all day
Skip the chains like IHOP and Denny’s. La Torta owner Elsa Noris serves chilaquiles and Colorado omelets weekdays inside The Galleria. Seven Cafe & Grill in Clovis runs breakfast 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. Yosemite Falls Cafe, YAVA Bakery & Cafe and Lety’s — the last serving all-day breakfast on Saturdays only — round out the list of locally-owned options.
Menu shifts and factory floors
Two stories with statewide reach hit close to home this month. A beloved California burger chain quietly reformulated a few staples, and a Central Valley frozen-food giant tightened its production line.
In-N-Out tweaks its buns, salt and ketchup
‘Updates’ are coming to In-N-Out menu. See what is changing — and why
Three quiet changes from the Baldwin Park chain: Sesame flour is out of buns served in Texas, Colorado and Tennessee; iodized salt packets are being replaced with sea salt; and ketchup now uses real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. “We are pleased to share that sesame flour has been removed since this allergen affects a number of our Customers,” Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick said.
Ruiz Foods lays off 176 at Dinuba plant
Ruiz Foods lays off 176 employees at Central Valley plant, cuts production schedule
The maker of El Monterey frozen Mexican food laid off 176 employees at its Dinuba manufacturing facility, effective Nov. 4. The plant, which employs about 1,400, will move to a five-day production schedule. “This difficult decision impacts valued members of our team and is necessary to better align production capacity with anticipated customer demand,” President and CEO Kimberli Carroll said in a statement.
The retail landscape
Beyond the kitchen, September brought a bittersweet goodbye, a big-box turnaround and a batch of shopping updates spanning Fresno, Clovis and Visalia.
Willow Gardens Nursery closing after 55 years
Family-owned garden nursery closing after 50+ years in Fresno. ‘Created out of love’
The 17-acre plant nursery at International and Willow avenues will shut down when its land lease expires at the end of 2026. Operator Danielle DePrima — whose grandparents John and Nancy founded it in 1974 — plans to run through Christmas and is marking down inventory. “Our grandparents created it — out of love. It was their passion; it was for the family,” DePrima said.
Chuze Fitness taking over former Big Lots
Former discount store on Shaw Avenue in Clovis has new 24-hour tenant moving in
The 35,000-square-foot Big Lots space at Sierra Pavilions in Clovis has a new tenant: 24-hour national chain Chuze Fitness. Plans include a 1,000-square-foot cardio cinema, an indoor green-turf area, a traditional sauna, zero-gravity chairs and a supervised Kids Club. Chief Development Officer Jon Eckman told the Clovis Planning Commission full operation is targeted for early 2028.
Valley’s biggest Goodwill, Target Beauty Studio and more
Biggest Goodwill in Valley, changes at Target part of Fresno-area shopping updates
Visalia’s Goodwill moved into the former JoAnn at 3920 S. Mooney Blvd. — about 13,000 square feet, the largest in the San Joaquin Valley branch’s history. Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore reopened at 617 N. Fulton St. in the Tower District. Target is replacing its in-store Ulta shops with Target Beauty Studio at River Park and other local stores starting Sept. 9.
Original stories by BJ Anteola, Bethany Clough, Amber Hair, Maria G. Ortiz-Briones, Gagandeep Singh and Leqi Zhong
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.
This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 9:20 AM.
