Fast food chains have been struggling to maintain their Central Valley market presences for some time now<\/a>. Beyond that, there\u2019s consistent demand in Fresno for Latino cuisine, with the U.S. Census Bureau finding that more than half of the city\u2019s 555,000-plus population identify as Hispanic or Latino.<\/p>\n Michael Arfsten, a partner at Retail California<\/a>, is involved with the sale of commercial buildings in the Central Valley, including two Taco La Villa restaurants that have opened, one in Fresno and one in Visalia. He said that for every fast food restaurant space that comes to market, he gets four to five inquiries, and most of those inquiries will be from people looking to convert the space into a Mexican restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less expensive for a new operator to come into a second-generation space than to go into a blank space,\u201d Arfsten said.<\/p>\n Already standing restaurants come with necessary improvements and equipment new owners can inherit, he said, such as walk-in freezers and refrigerators, plumbing, grease interceptors and additional tools. Additionally, many former fast food restaurants will already have drive-through lanes and set-ups, offering additional savings to new operators.<\/p>\n The savings aren\u2019t just in money. Jonathon Ortiz, an associate at ASU Commercial, said the savings also translate into time, which can make a significant difference when a new restaurant is trying to get up and running. New permits, such as for a new drive-through lane, can be extremely costly and add months to a restaurant\u2019s grand opening date.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean every new Mexican restaurant is taking over the space of a former fast food place. Tacos el Franc<\/a>, a highly-decorated Mexican restaurant with Tijuana roots, is opening at 110 E Shaw Ave., where Heroes Comics used to be.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
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