By Bethany Clough of The Fresno Bee | February 4, 2021
When locally owned DaVinci’s Pizza closed its restaurant at the northwest corner of Herndon and Marks avenues, the neighborhood was sad to see it go.
People mourned the closure on a Facebook page dedicated to the neighborhood.
“A classic,” one person called it.
A sign on the door of the empty restaurant says, “To all of our loyal patrons over the years: I am sad to say sales have been an on-going struggle at this location. This location is closed.”
It goes on to invite customers to the DaVinci’s at Willow and Alluvial avenues.
But the pizza restaurant at Herndon and Marks won’t stay empty for a long. A Pizza Factory is planning to move into the spot.
David Danenberg, who grew up in Tulare, plans to open the Pizza Factory franchise at the location in late February.
He has a small business selling gourmet hot dogs at Big Hat Days and other events, and is moving to Fresno to run the Pizza Factory.
PIZZA FACTORY
The restaurant won’t have tables inside, even after COVID-19 has passed. It will be a smaller, express version of Pizza Factory’s other locations, he said. It will deliver.
In addition to pizza, the restaurant will also sell pasta, including spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, and salads.
“It’s all high quality in-house made stuff,” he said. “We make everything fresh every day from the meatballs to the dough that we use.”
Since he’ll be focusing on just one location, Danenberg thinks the spot can be successful.
Pizza Factory has one other location in Fresno with different owners, on First Street south of Nees Avenue and several locations in outlying communities.