UKIAH >> Escrow has now closed on the former Fjords building near Raley’s, and realtor Todd Schapmire said he could finally confirm what county planning officials revealed months ago.
“The buyer was In-N-Out Burger,” Schapmire said this week, explaining that he could not disclose the name of the new owners until escrow had closed, and that process was completed last week.
Schapmire said the seller received “multiple offers” on the building, which sat empty for many years with a cyclone fence around it, but the popular Southern California-based burger chain won out.
“It represented the best fit not only in terms of price, but in terms of it being a business that would be successful,” he said. “This is a very exciting opportunity that should bring in lots of jobs and revenue.”
The next step, Schapmire said, is for the new owner to obtain a demolition permit from Mendocino County, and once that is granted he expected the process of building the restaurant to “go fairly quickly.”
At least one county official who dealt with the new owners described the sale as a positive change for the community as well.
“They’re a really good developer, in my opinion,” said Mendocino County Transportation Director Howard Dashiell earlier this year.
Dashiell said the area surrounding the building was getting new, ADA-compliant sidewalks, and the dreaded “bump” that drivers have to cross to enter the shopping center next to Yokayo Bowl and the Fjords building will be fixed, as well.
“That bump pretty much stops the flow of traffic, and as a business, that’s not something you typically want,” he said, explaining that he doesn’t have the money in his budget to make those repairs, so he asked In-N-Out-Burger to do it.
“And I gotta hand it to them, they’re stepping up and doing more,” he said. “Everything I asked them to do they agreed to, which was great, because they didn’t have to. But they want it to be a classy business.”
Dashiell said the building was zoned for a restaurant and no approval process was needed for the burger chain to acquire it and open a location there.
