Fresno City Council Approves Café Lease for Historic Water Tower, Owner Seeks Community Help to Finish

After six years of waiting and a unanimous City Council vote on June 4, Albee Sanchez is almost ready to open Frida Café inside Fresno’s 130-year-old water tower. He just needs help crossing the finish line.

Sanchez launched a $260,000 fundraiser July 10 to complete the interior work — equipment, seating, color patterns — before the café opens this fall. The council’s approval means the city’s part is done. Now the inside is up to him.

“From the time that we first got a quote for this build out, it has gone up almost four times,” Sanchez said. “To support the coffee shop during the summer, which statistically is a slow time of year for sales, and to do this at the same time, we just couldn’t do it.”

Sanchez opened Frida Café inside Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant in downtown Fresno in September 2020. By the end of that year, he was already looking for a permanent space. The water tower, built in 1894 and under city ownership since 1956, needed serious work first — a new PG&E transformer, updated electrical panels, exterior lighting, and other fixes the city has now finished.

The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It once hosted the city’s visitor center, but maintenance had fallen low on the city’s priority list in recent decades.

Sanchez is taking out a mortgage on his own condo to make this work. “If this venture goes south, I lose my place,” he said. “But I believe in it that much.”

He’s aiming for what he calls an “unrealistic” level of customer service. “We are going to provide a level of service that does not exist in coffee. This coffee shop will be an experience people return for.”

Sanchez, who was born at Community Regional Medical Center and graduated from Clovis West High School in 2007, said the café is “more than just an effort to make money for someone who doesn’t live here.” He pointed to other historic Fresno sites like the Kearney Museum and Brix Mansion, which give tours or host events to raise money for restoration, cleaning and maintenance work. “It becomes really hard (for historic places) to keep the doors open, and that’s what a coffee shop provides.”

The Breakdown

• The Fresno City Council approved Frida Café’s lease of the water tower in a unanimous vote June 4.
• The city completed repairs to the building — transformer, electrical panels, exterior lighting — needed before a business could operate there.
• Sanchez is now fundraising $260,000 for interior work (equipment, seating, design) to open this fall, though he doesn’t expect to raise the full amount.
• The water tower was built in 1894, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and has been city-owned since 1956.

What This Means for You

The City Council’s vote decides what happens to a piece of city property you own — a 130-year-old landmark that’s sat underused while maintenance fell behind. Whether the café succeeds or fails, the council’s decision to let a small business try is a statement about what downtown development looks like when the city isn’t writing the checks itself.

What You Can Do

Sanchez launched a fundraiser July 10 for $260,000 to complete interior work before the café opens this fall.

What to Watch

Sanchez said he wants to use fundraiser dollars to pay employees better starting wages, invest in programming, and open with less debt. That’s the stated plan — but a private business inside a historic city building carries real questions worth watching.

One is whether the lease terms the council approved protect the city’s interest if the business fails. Sanchez is mortgaging his own condo to make this work, which means he’s all-in — but what happens to the building if the café can’t make it? Does the city end up back where it started, with an empty tower and a new search for a tenant?

Another is the stewardship question. Historic buildings like this need constant care, and Sanchez himself pointed to other Fresno landmarks that struggle to keep their doors open. A café provides foot traffic and revenue, but it also creates wear on a structure that’s already over a century old. Is the lease clear about who’s responsible for ongoing maintenance, and does the city have a plan for oversight?

Sanchez believes Fresno residents need to see their own city differently, and he’s putting his home on the line to prove it. That kind of faith deserves respect. But faith and a business plan aren’t the same thing, and the council’s vote means the city is now counting on both.