{"id":506923,"date":"2026-10-24T21:38:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T21:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506923\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T21:38:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T21:38:42","slug":"tower-districts-vendor-zone-sees-few-patrons-amid-rollout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506923\/","title":{"rendered":"Tower District\u2019s vendor zone sees few patrons amid rollout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Changes<\/p>\n

Changes to Fresno\u2019s Tower District are officially in effect following a city council vote on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n

Nick Fenley<\/p>\n

The new vendor area in Fresno\u2019s Tower District was a ghost town Friday night while crowds of police officers stood watch outside nightclubs \u2014 the effects of a new plan to address safety concerns in the city\u2019s nightlife district.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019s There\u2019s now increased police presence in Fresno\u2019s Tower District following safety concerns on the heels of a shooting outside club MIA last weekend. Nick Fenley <\/p>\n

After the city council\u2019s decision to implement a new \u201cVendor Market Zone\u201d on Thursday, the changes are going into effect this weekend. While street vendors were formerly dotted along Olive Avenue, they are now largely confined to a parking lot at the southwest corner of Olive and Van Ness avenues.<\/p>\n

The Bee visited the Tower District around 10 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday to get a look at the impact of the changes. The designated vendor zone is about 450 feet away from the intersection of Olive Avenue and Broadway Street \u2014 an area near several nightclubs that was previously a hotspot for late-night street vendors.<\/p>\n

\"A A look at the \u201cVendor Market Zone\u201d that Fresno City Council approved, taken Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1:04 a.m. One vendor said that in four hours he had served the same number of customers he would have in just two hours at his old location. Nick Fenley <\/p>\n

While the vendors were previously busy serving patrons as they exited nearby establishments, there was little foot traffic both times The Bee visited the new zone. There were a total of four vendors set up in the parking lot, as well as a fifth vendor set up across the street at the northwest corner of the intersection.<\/p>\n

Around 1:15 a.m., a vendor told The Bee that he had seen very few customers that evening. Another corroborated, saying that in the four hours they had been set up in the market zone, he had served the same number of patrons he would have seen in just two hours in his former spot.<\/p>\n

\"Two Two Fresno police officers turn onto Olive Avenue on department-issued motorcycles. Nick Fenley <\/p>\n

While vendors grapple with the new status quo, swaths of officers stood outside establishments. Some wore uniforms, while others were in plain clothes along with vests identifying them as law enforcement.<\/p>\n

The changes to Fresno\u2019s Tower District come on the heels of public concerns surrounding safety in the city\u2019s nightlife district. Two men were shot<\/a> by a 16-year-old outside club MIA last weekend, and an off-duty ICE agent<\/a> made headlines earlier this month after being arrested and charged with assaulting a Tower homeowner.<\/p>\n

\"A A crowd of officers gathers outside club MIA early Saturday in Fresno\u2019s Tower District. Nick Fenley <\/p>\n

Ahead of the city council\u2019s vote, a community meeting was held, allowing residents to share their perspectives on the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis weekend, we will not be perfect on this. So, we will learn from this weekend, and we\u2019ll learn from the next \u2014 but we\u2019ll get it as good as we can,\u201d Mayor Jerry Dyer said of the \u201cVendor Market Zone\u201d on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Vendors will be restricted to the vacant lot for approximately 90 days from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Nick Fenley<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Nick Fenley is a reporter covering education, lawsuits, breaking news and more for The Fresno Bee. He\u2019s originally from the Imperial Valley and joined The Bee in 2025.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Changes to Fresno\u2019s Tower District are officially in effect following a city council vote on Thursday, Oct. 22,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-506923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}