When shaved ice and dessert shop Vampire Penguin in North Fresno shut down Sunday, it had already sold all the product in its freezers, drained its drink machines dry and said goodbye to the long lines of customers that flooded the business in its last days.
Just one problem.
A bill from the landlord showed up shortly after – for the upcoming month.
After some head scratching and digging into the fine print, the owners realized they still had three months left on their lease.
“We closed a little too soon,” said Jonathan Escoto, who owns the business with wife Melanie Escoto at Champlain Drive and Perrin Avenue.
The pair had planned to not renew their lease after five years and close the business. Both nurses, they are moving to Las Vegas, where they have a successful print business.
They planned to reopen Vampire Penguin there, serving up the shaved ice desserts smothered in chocolate syrup, Mexican candies, strawberries and other goodies.
Also playing into their decision? A frustration with the difficulty of running a business in California right now – including minimum wage rising to $17.40 an hour Jan. 1 and growing workers’ compensation costs – that made them want to leave the state, Escoto said.
“Here I am saying our goodbyes, kissing babies and high-fiving people and now we’ve gotta stay open for three months,” Escoto said.
Everyone they talked to – including ChatGPT – told them to be honest about their slipup and own it.
“Everybody was like, ‘Just tell your story. It’s kinda funny,’” he said.
So now they’re giving the Fresno business three more months. It will reopen Friday, Aug. 28 and stay open until Nov. 1. They’d reopen sooner, but they need the time to restock those empty freezers.
The mix-up stemmed from when Vampire Penguin first opened in 2021. It took the business a little longer to open than expected and the owners didn’t pay rent for three months.
The landlord tacked those three months onto the end of their 60-month lease.
“I never paid attention to that part,” Escoto said.
On its last day open, Vampire Penguin did 280% more in sales than the same day the year before. A line stretched out the door from 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. – they were supposed to close at 8 p.m.
At least one commenter on social media accused the owners of a marketing ploy to get more customers in the door. But nope, said Escoto, they were actually giving away and throwing away product at the end.
“I don’t pay attention,” he said.
Vampire Penguin, at 1102 E. Champlain Dr., suite 108, will switch to winter hours when it reopens: 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays.
The Vampire Penguin location in on Chaplain and Perrin in Fresno is permanently closing after five years in business. Their final day of operation will be Sunday, August 16, 2026. It specialized in gourmet shaved snow, which is what they say is a unique hybrid dessert combining the rich, creamy texture of ice cream with the light, fluffy feel of shaved ice. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com .png "image (8).png")
The Tuxedo at Vampire Penguin features chocolate shaved snow, sliced almonds, strawberries and chocolate sauce. Special to The Bee Vampire Penguin
This story was originally published August 20, 2026 at 5:06 PM.
Related Stories from Fresno Bee
The Fresno Bee
Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers’ questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.