New business excited to call Downtown Fresno their new home

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The rebirth of Downtown Fresno is expected to be even more obvious this year.

The Fulton Street Project is set to begin next month and many businesses and restaurants are excited to call Downtown Fresno their new home.

The roasters are warming up and a coffee company with a mission is set to package and sell their coffee beans from their new location on Broadway Street. "I love downtown personally. Lanna-- we care about rebuilding things that are broken and so we want to be a part of the life that is happening downtown," said Bryan Feil, Lanna Coffee Company.

Lanna Coffee Company is one of the dozens of businesses, including technology companies, who are opening up in Downtown Fresno and banking on the support of the community.

"We have Sequoia Beer Gardens around The Corner and Bitwise going in a couple blocks over, so there's a great energy down here," said Fresno mayor Ashley Swearengin.

Swearengin is excited about 2016 and the transformation of downtown into a place that's fully functional and diverse in options. "Downtown Fresno is happening. I mean, this place is really starting to thrive and all of the things that we've been talking about for years are finally becoming a reality."

The Fulton Street Project, set to get underway next month, will be a major part of the revitalization effort. The new residential projects and office space remodels have already proven to be a big draw for eateries and businesses. "We're really seeing a combination of businesses that have locations in other parts of the Valley that are choosing downtown as an expansion of their business, but we're also seeing a lot of startups, particularly restaurants and tech companies that want to be close to an urban center and are choosing to locate and start their business here in Downtown Fresno," said Swearengin.

Well known food trucks are also setting up fixed locations including Dusty Buns Bistro, Raw Fresno, and Zamore Pizza.

In addition, the mayor says $40-million in private investments are ready for construction to start on Fulton to fully transform the historic street into a thriving area.

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Some of the images in this story are courtesy of VintageFresno.com