For years, there was a little paleta place on Belmont Avenue in Fresno with a big reputation.
La Reina de Michoacan sold paletas and helados — the Mexican popsicles and ice cream on a stick — along with scoops and drinks near Broadway Street.
It wasn’t in the best neighborhood, hence the bars on the windows, but had a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating on Yelp.com. It would draw customers from Clovis and travelers on their way back from the nearby national parks.
Said one Yelp reviewer from San Francisco: “LOVE the ice cream here. La Reina is literally in the middle of no where but their ice cream is worth the drive.”
The shop would close during the slow winter season, but lately, it’s been closed even in the hottest of summer months.
What happened to La Reina de Michoacan?
What’s going on with La Reina de Michoacan?
It’s been closed for three years.
Owner Gabriel Alvarez still hopes to reopen it someday.
He said he closed the shop when the city installed new bike lanes.
La Reina de Michoacan — which translates to The Queen of Michoacan, a state in west-central Mexico — does not have its own paved parking lot, so most customers park on the street in front of the business.
When the new Class IV bikeways were installed on Belmont between Palm Avenue and Abby Street, it took up the that space. The bike paths physically separate riders from car traffic by more than a mere painted line, with wider painted margins as well as flexible posts that rise from the pavement.
“It’s affected a lot of customers,” Alvarez said. “We don’t have parking. My sales go down.”
The city’s design team took parking into account when designing the bike lanes, according to city spokesperson Sontaya Rose.
“Unfortunately at some locations, retaining street parking and installing the protected bike lanes were incompatible with each other,” she said.
The city never heard from the business during extensive outreach before or after the lanes were installed, she said.
“We don’t want to see businesses closing, but the city department did not receive any correspondence that the business was impacted,” she said.
Alvarez ended up selling the building, but still has access to the space.
“I need to open again,” he said.
Perhaps he’ll reopen there in February, he said. Or perhaps someplace new.
“I need to open (in) a new place, River Park, Clovis,” he said. “I need to start again.”
When times were good, he would sell 300 to 500 of the strawberries-and-cream bars a day.
“Everybody (was) asking for this flavor,” he said. “They loving my ice cream.”
Installation of a bike lane along Belmont Avenue has eliminated parking for customers at La Reina de Michoacan, which the owner says led to its closure. Photographed Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com 
The owner of La Reina de Michoacan has closed his business after installation of a bike lane in front of his shop along Belmont Avenue eliminated parking options for customers. Photographed Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com 
Paletas from La Reina de Michoacana come in a variety of fruit flavors. MARK CROSSE The Fresno Bee 
Gabriel Alvarez owns La Reina de Michoacan, a paleteria in Fresno. REBECCA PLEVIN The Fresno Bee
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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.