Two more KFC restaurants in the Fresno area closed last week, further drying out the fried chicken presence locally.
The KFC near the intersection of Ashlan and Fowler avenues in Clovis and the KFC near Shaw and Brawley in northwest Fresno both abruptly closed for good last week.
Both restaurants were locked and boarded up, and the KFC signs removed.
The buildings, which had been the national chain’s colors of red and white, had started to be painted over.
The KFC that had been at Shaw and Brawley avenues in northwest Fresno closed this week, with the building quickly boarded up and the painted over. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com
Why the popular national chain restaurants closed was not immediately known. Multiple workers at nearby stores said both KFC restaurants appeared to attract a steady number of customers each day.
A message left with JEM Management, which owned those franchises as well as other KFC restaurants in the Fresno area, was not immediately returned Friday.
The two closings follow an ongoing trend that started last year three KFC stores in Fresno forever shut their doors.
Those KFC’s had been at Herndon and Spruce in northwest Fresno, First and Bullard in northeast Fresno and Dakota and West in central Fresno.
Then in February, the popular KFC location near downtown Fresno by C and Fresno streets shut its doors for good. The building was quickly surrounded by a chain-link fence.
There are five KFC spots (two on Blackstone, Jensen, Cesar Chavez, McKinley) remaining in Fresno, and one in Clovis (Shaw and Villa).
Why are KFCs closing?
Although KFC’s iconic 11 herb and spices fried chicken has long been beloved, sales have slipped in recent years and the chain has been in a crisis.
Several KFC locations in the Midwest closed abruptly in 2024. The company — originally named Kentucky Fried Chicken — moved its headquarters out of Kentucky to Texas in February, reportedly to save on taxes.
KFC ranked fourth in the sales among national chicken chains, behind Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Popeyes and the chicken leader Chick-fil-A.
The Daily Meal, a food and beverage website, listed a number of reasons why KFC has been in a decline and hypothesized that the fried chicken company’s primary struggles have been “because it’s not keeping up with the times.”
Based on local closures, fried chicken restaurants have seemed to struggle in the Fresno area.
There is one KFC remaining in Clovis, located at Shaw and Villa avenues, following the closure of the KFC at Fowler and Ashlan. In all, five KFCs have closed in the Fresno area since 2025. BRYANT-JON ANTEOLA banteola@fresnobee.com
Beyond the five KFCs that have closed since 2025, the Popeye’s Chicken at First and McKinley avenues closed last year. Locally owned Chicken Man restaurant closed in 2018 after 51 years.
That all said, fried chicken still seems to be consumed plenty in the Fresno area, though, perhaps at different places.
In recent years, many chicken-based restaurants have opened locally: including hot chicken places such as Nashville-based Red Chickz, Angry Chickz and Dave’s Hot Chicken and Korean chicken restaurant bb.q Chicken in Clovis.
Delis inside grocery stores also sell fried chicken that seem to be popularly purchased, offering more chicken at a lower price compared to costs at restaurants.
At the grocery store Winco, for example, an employee who’s responsible for making fried chicken in the deli said they regularly sell out of fried chicken by the evening.
The KFC that had been at Fowler and Ashlan avenues in Clovis abruptly closed this week. The building was quickly boarded up and painted over with the KFC sign also removed. BRYANT-JON ANTEOLA banteola@fresnobee.com
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 9:47 AM.
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Bryant-Jon Anteola is a multimedia reporter for The Fresno Bee, writing stories and producing videos about sports, news and random topics relatable to those in the Fresno area. He’s won a McClatchy President’s Award and received honorable mention by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He enjoys sports because of the competition, camaraderie and energy, and views sports as a microcosm of society.