Fresno Native, Alvaro Romero is busy organizing his store, Miscellaneous, ahead of its grand opening. "I have always loved the building, I have always loved downtown."
The store carries a little bit of everything including handmade pieces by local designers. Romero is now joining business owners who are choosing to set up shop inside the Warnors Theater. "It's an area that can be very pedestrian and it's an area that's underappreciated, I want to attract as many folks as I can down here."
Craig Scharton who spearheads the city's downtown revitalization project also hopes to draw more people to the area. Plans are now underway to make Tuolumne and Stanislaus Streets accessible to two-way traffic. The goal: give more people an opportunity to stop at downtown stores and spend. "So if you think of Olive Avenue in the Tower District or Pollasky in Downtown Clovis, that kind of feel."
And making the area more consumer friendly is something local store owners like Melanie Davis who recently moved into the area, are thrilled about. "We are so excited. It is such a beautiful location and such a bustling corner of downtown."
Those two-way roads are expected to take about three years to complete. And if you'd like to check out those new shops in the area, ArtHop takes place Thursday evening.
