FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — If you work at Fresno City Hall and are a big fan of bread pudding, then you’ll soon be in for a sweet treat.
The Fresno City Council unanimously approved a new lease for The Cracked Pepper Bistro to be added to the city hall’s cafeteria.
This recommendation was something employees of the city were excited to see, including City Manager Georgeanne White.
In a statement about the choice, she says they’re thrilled to have the restaurant bring their style and culinary taste to the downtown area.
But not everyone on the council is behind the choice, considering that the improvements needed to add the restaurant in the cafeteria will cost city taxpayers $600 thousand.
In a heated discussion with the city manager, District Three Council Member Miguel Arias said the cost is a lot for tenant improvements, even counter arguing White’s point about the costs to make improvements to the Fresno Water Tower.
Others on the council had no issue with the choice to add the restaurant to the building.
Council Member Tyler Maxwell finds the choice to be a convenient option for people who work in city hall.
“I just wanted to say, I’m not sure why this is being scrutinized so much,” Maxwell said. “I think this is really a fantastic opportunity for the, you know, thousands of people that call city hall to work that come here every day, work late hours. Um, I know there was some stiff competition. I’m glad to see, you know, such a well-respected restaurant in our community be selected. I really think it’s going to be a good thing for the employees working here to have that option to not have to necessarily walk outside to get food when it’s, you know,40 or 112 degrees outside and they could, you know, grab breakfast or grab a snack, lunch or even, you know, a later meal if work calls for it.”
Another part of the lease that concerned Arias was the lease for the soon to be cafe will include three years of free rent with the owner of Cracked Pepper Bistro telling our media partner GV Wire that he expects to fully open by fall.
The 600 thousand in costs will include 400 thousand in construction and about 100 thousand for equipment needed for the improvement project.
With the agreement including three years of free rent for the restaurant to move in, FOX26 wanted to see if there’s ever been anything similar offered by the city.
According to research and from hearing Director of General Services Brian Bar, there are agreements in place that are called one dollar leases.
But these are multi-decade agreements that are for companies that predominantly serve the public, and the companies would invest in improvements.
For this agreement, Cracked Pepper is getting three years of free rent and the city is investing in the improvements.