Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer takes a bite of an Einstein Bros. bagel Wednesday, Oct. 8, for the grand opening. Photo by Ben Hensley

Einstein Bros. Bagels cut the ribbon at its newest Fresno location near the convention center in Downtown Fresno, marking the franchise’s third Fresno store to open since December 2023.

The ribbon cutting was held in front of dozens of guests. The store, which opened Wednesday morning at 6 a.m., saw lines coming out the door prior to the ribbon cutting, which featured key remarks from Jerry Dyer, District Manager and part owner Jaime Gonzales and Michelle Tutelian, daughter of John Tutelian, who founded Civic Center Square in 1976.

“Sometimes people think that there’s not a lot of foot traffic downtown, or maybe they won’t be able to have a good, prosperous business downtown, but quite frankly there’s nothing further from the truth,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said at the ceremony. “We see how many people are out here today at the [Kern Street] Farmers Market, but it’s like that every single day.”

Patrick Monreal, local developer and co-owner of Fresno’s three Einstein Bros. Bagels locations, said that the fit for the store was perfect, aligning with his goals to invest in areas of Fresno that will drive maximum foot traffic, vehicle traffic and attention.

“I think Downtown Fresno is the heart of our community,” he said. “I think the missing piece here was a breakfast spot, and bringing in a longtime franchise and company like Einstein’s — it’s got history, it’s got a solid name to it and I think it will be a great backbone for the community.”

Monreal first opened near Dave & Buster’s in 2023, and then near the Marketplace at El Paseo in 2024.

He said that opening three stores in the last three years gives both him and his partners the opportunity to ride the wave of recent success while scoping out areas of town to invest in next; Monreal hopes to open five Einstein Bros. Bagels in the area, next focusing on expanding closer to Clovis.

“We’re trying to hit different pieces of the community that we feel are the most needed,” he said.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is located at 2343 Kern St., in the Crescent Building at Civic Center Square, near the Galleria and across the street from the Fresno Convention Center. The store is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.