Changes in Tower

A couple of weeks ago there was an article in the Fresno Bee that said Lauck's Bakery would be closing at the beginning of the year. This was right on the heels of the drug store that shares the same parking lot closing its doors and also "M" shutting down not too long ago as well. The reasons that were cited were increased rent prices, even though rent in Tower is lower than most other places in Fresno, without the increased customer base to support it.

Although it is unfortunate to see businesses fail, I honestly wasn't a fan of any of those establishments. I appreciate that Lauck's is an icon in the Tower District and has been there for many years but I was never impressed with their product. I went in there a few times to pick up something to bring to staff meetings and found a very limited selection and the quality was standard but not exceptional. I know some people love that place but its appeal is more nostalgic to me at least. We also went to M once for dinner and again everything was decent but nothing I would tell my friends about (had you not all been there with me).

So with some of the old blood packing up and leaving there is ample opportunity for new establishments to take their places. I have always said that I would love it if there was a sushi place in Tower and the Laucks article mentioned that a sushi restaurant would be going in and just today I saw the sign for it coming soon across from Starbucks. It seems like if they do a decent job with the restaurant it would be a popular destination. I know I will be looking forward to trying it in the near future.

There are other opportunities for new developments in this area though that could make the Tower District a very successful area. Business development has always been intriguing to me as well as the entrepreneurial spirit associated with it so I look forward to seeing what indeed comes to fruition.

Austin is a very entrepreneurial city with a great deal of independently owned establishments that usually have a quirky edge to them. I know I talk a lot about how cool Austin is but it really is pretty great. One of my favorite things to do there was to go to the Alamo DraftHouse. I very possibly could have described this place to you before so if I did I apologize but I am going to talk about it again because I think the Tower Theater would be a great place to use a similar concept. Basically they took an old run down theater downtown, ripped out every other row of seats and in their place put a narrow table top that stretches the length of the row. When you get there there is a menu in front of you and once you decide what you want you write it down and the waiter/waitress will come pick it up and within the first 15 minutes of the movie starting you have your food. We are not talking about popcorn and whoppers either the menu has appetizers, burgers and fries, pizza, salads etc. and the food is actually pretty good. They play regular movies but have a lot of themed shows that they do as well. For example I went to the R. Kelly Sing-a-long and they played the entire trapped in the closet series complete with commentary from a couple of comedians who hosted the show as well as some of his old music videos that they just rip. They play a ton of old movies that aren't classics but horrible funny, they have mini film festivals, there was an 80's prom theme show where they showed Pretty in Pink and everyone dressed up in 80s prom attire and my favorite thing they do is a live version of Mystery Science Theater where they take popular old movies (like The Lost Boys) and again have commentary the entire time from comedians who sit up front. Oh yeah and did I mention they serve alcohol too??

I see the Tower Theater being right next to an available restaurant and I get all a tingle. If I knew anything about starting a business I would think it would go over pretty well. I wouldn't even know where to start. Hopefully though other people do and they will bring that knowledge to the area and get something creative, fun and successful to the most unique and arguably the best neighborhood in Fresno.

(Is anyone even still reading??)