What happened to this African restaurant in Fresno — and its planned second location?
Confused fans of the Ethiopian restaurant took to the internet for answers. We have them. Ethiopian restaurant, Fasika, has disappeared from its Blackstone Avenue location in Fresno, California, and a second location in a historic downtown building. The restaurant, a rare occurrence in the city, had planned to open a second, but both locations have now closed. The original location, which opened in 2011, was replaced by Southern Hospitality Company. The landlord of the building, Sevak Khatchadourian, stated that the restaurant defaulted on its lease and owes the landlord money. Fasika's filing as a limited liability company with California's Secretary of State has also been suspended for failing to meet tax requirements. Despite multiple attempts by The Bee to contact Fasika’s owners, the restaurant’ owners have not responded to any requests.
Published : a month ago by Bethany Clough in Lifestyle
Where did Fasika go?
That’s what several fans of the Ethiopian restaurant — a rarity in Fresno — are asking after it seemingly disappeared from its Blackstone Avenue location.
The restaurant had planned to open a second location in a historic downtown building. Then there was an email after it closed about doing delivery temporarily, and many of its loyal customers were left wondering about the future of the business.
Several went to the local page of Reddit.com, a message board-style website, to look for updates. They didn’t find many answers.
The Bee looked into the matter and we don’t have good news for fans of the African restaurant.
Both locations are no more.
The original location that Charles Kaloki and family opened in 2011 on Blackstone in a strip center just north of Gettysburg Avenue closed months ago. It’s already been replaced by Southern Hospitality Company, a local catering business.
A representative of the property’s landlord said in an email to The Bee that the restaurant defaulted on its lease and owes the landlord money.
Fasika’s filing as a limited liability company with California’s Secretary of State has also been suspended for failure to meet tax requirements.
But what about that planned second location?
Fasika’s owners had signed a lease to open another restaurant in the historic Helm building at Fulton and Mariposa streets. The 1914 building is currently being renovated.
But last week, building owner Sevak Khatchadourian said the deal with Fasika is off.
“They are no where to be found at this point,” he said.
He has two other potential renters ready to take over the spot, he said.
The Bee tried repeatedly to contact Fasika’s owners. The phone number was disconnected and the owner did not return several emails. Family members did not return messages via social media.
Fasika had extremely high ratings on Yelp.com and Google reviews.
The Black-owned business specialized in Ethiopian and Kenyan food. It was popular among vegans and vegetarians, though it served plenty of meat dishes too.
It was family style dining, with large shared plates lined with injera — a spongy flatbread — that diners tore off, using it and their fingers to scoop from lentils, greens or other vegetables.
Fresno doesn’t have a lot of African restaurants, much less Ethiopian restaurants.
Lucy’s Lair at Maple and Behymer avenues closed years ago. Triumph African Restaurant at First Street and Bullard Avenue is listed as temporarily closed on Google and could not be reached for comment.
Topics: Food & Drink