Martinez said the restaurant\u2019s proximity to Fresno\u2019s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office \u2014 which sits around the corner on L Street \u2014 has also hurt business. Martinez said she noticed a drop in sales after a June 2025 anti-ICE protest<\/a> in response to the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. There have been several protests, prayer vigils<\/a> and arrests at the ICE office<\/a>.<\/p>\n La Jacka Mobile food truck owner\/cook Miriam Martinez holds a jackfruit on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fresno. Martinez creates meatless dishes using the versatile jackfruit including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and pulled \u201cpork\u201d sandwiches.<\/p>\n Ultimately, though, she decided to not renew the restaurant\u2019s lease in the South Stadium building at Van Ness Avenue and Mono Street due to economic conditions, rising costs, declining sales and concerns around safety and homelessness downtown.<\/p>\n Cooking oil that used to cost $16 before the pandemic now costs $47; A bulk order of beans that once cost $18-$20 now cost $40 and a bag of rice that used to cost $15 now cost $35, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve tried to keep prices down … because we didn\u2019t want to raise costs too much, even though everything has gone up \u2014 some things as much as fivefold, others threefold since the pandemic,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n La Jacka\u2019s lease ends on June 30. They initially planned to stay open until the end of the month, but changed the last day of service to Sunday to have time to pack up.<\/p>\n Will Dyck, CEO of Summa Properties, the building\u2019s owner, said he wishes La Jacka the best of luck in their future endeavors. He said he offered a $1,000 discount on rent to help them stay open. He hopes to fill the space with another restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t ask them to leave; they left on their own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Past and future of Fresno jackfruit business<\/p>\n After opening as a food truck in 2014, La Jacka built a loyal following with locals and tourists alike.<\/p>\n The restaurant was among the top 10 Fresno Mexican restaurants, according to Yelp ratings<\/a>. The restaurant would often receive tourists who were passing through town en route to local national parks. Customers appreciated that the restaurant was open on the weekend since many downtown restaurants serve the weekday government and office worker crowd.<\/p>\n La Jacka Restaurant has moved into a cafe spot in the former Bitwise South Stadium building at 700 Van Ness in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n Martinez said she has plans to bring her popular jackfruit dishes to Fresno after taking a month or two off to recalibrate.<\/p>\n Since she also owns the Hot Spot Kitchen, a commercial kitchen where several food businesses operate,<\/a> Martinez is considering selling her popular dishes via a pre-order and pick-up system for one or two days a week.<\/p>\n She will also continue to import jackfruit, and has plans to sell the prepared, pre-packaged fruit directly to customers and to businesses that want to incorporate the meat alternative into their menus.<\/p>\n Martinez is also planning to roll out several mezcal tasting events \u2014 and wants to bridge connections between Mexican mezcal producers and the Central Valley farmers that are planting agave with the goal of distilling it for consumption<\/a>.<\/p>\n If someone wants to open a La Jacka restaurant outside of Fresno, \u201cI am also open to that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said customers are asking her to bring back the popular food truck \u2014 an idea she is open to if it makes financial sense. But first, she said, she needs \u201ccustomers to support us by consuming double so we can make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, customers can keep track of future business plans on social media<\/a> and La Jacka\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/e9480697757bdd94744f9e4757cb7e9d.jpeg\"\/)
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