What’s going into Modesto’s vacant Sonic? Update on construction projects underway
As summer nears, construction in Modesto has ramped up and work is underway at a number of new business sites around the city.
Among them is a coffee giant moving into the former Sonic Drive-In on Orangeburg Avenue, a popular Turlock restaurant constructing a second location on Sylvan Avenue, and two major chains opening additional locations along Yosemite Boulevard.
The Sonic on Orangeburg closed in November 2019. The drive-in chain first posted the shutdown as temporary, but in December made the closure permanent. Sonic opened in the location, just off the Briggsmore Avenue Highway 99 exit, in 2004. The site has been vacant since the closure and throughout the pandemic.
But fencing has gone up and, according to City of Modesto planning documents, Starbucks will take over the location. Initial permits to begin exterior work and approve new signs were issued in April and May. The 1,428-square foot building sits between an IHOP and Denny’s.
The Starbucks on Orangeburg will be the third new planned location for the ubiquitous coffee chain in the city.
A new location on J Street, across from the planned ACE station at the corner of Ninth and J streets, has finished the bulk of construction and is nearing opening. Another new Starbucks is planned for Dale Road, in the Kiernan Business Park across from Kaiser Permanente hospital. The new northwest Modesto location is near the recently opened Brass Tap craft beer bar and restaurant.
Two new projects on Modesto’s Yosemite Boulevard
But Starbucks isn’t the only company expanding its Modesto presence. On Yosemite Boulevard, construction is in different stages of progress on two new businesses that will open additional city locations.
At the corner of Yosemite and Santa Cruz Avenue, a new ARCO/ampm gas station and mini mart is finalizing its construction. The new fuel station is going up in a long vacant lot at the corner, next door to the Modesto Gospel Mission and kitty-corner from the Jack in the Box. It will be the second ARCO/ampm on Yosemite. The other location is further east down Yosemite at the corner of Lincoln Avenue.
Then, even further east along Yosemite, land has been cleared to make way for a new O’Reilly Auto Parts. A once vacant plot next to the Dollar Tree has been leveled and construction should begin soon. The City of Modesto issued a building permit for the site in early May.
The new O’Reilly will be the sixth in the city, with other locations dotted around town along Standiford and McHenry avenues, Oakdale, Carpenter and Paradise roads. The new southeast Modesto location will also be directly next door to an existing AutoZone. So once it opens, let the auto part wars of Yosemite Boulevard begin.
And finally, not all the new construction in town is being helmed by large corporations. On Sylvan Avenue, work continues apace on the new Memo’s Cocina & Tequila Bar. The from-the-ground-up project will be the second location for the Mexican restaurant owned by the Ramirez family. The original spot opened in 2014 in downtown Turlock.
Work began in February on the site, at the corner of Sylvan and Forest Glenn Drive, for what will be a roughly 8,100-square-foot building with a large banquet room for private parties and an outdoor patio. The new location will be significantly larger than its Turlock Main Street site, which is about 5,300 square feet.
Plans to build the new restaurant were first announced in the fall of 2019. But then the pandemic hit and Karina Ramirez, who manages Memo’s with her husband Guillermo, said the project was put on pause. The Ramirez family also owns the multiple Las Casuelas locations in the region.
Despite the seeming glut of Mexican eateries in the area, Memo’s has distinguished itself with its made-from-scratch approach to its food and drinks and offers what the family considers “elevated” cuisine. Karina Ramirez said the restaurant is on pace for a October or November opening.
