Orloff Jewelers expands in Fig Garden Village with watch boutique, coffee bar

Orloff Jewelers was making one of the biggest changes in its 70-year history at Fig Garden Village, expanding by about 2,000 square feet into the former La Rouge space next door at Palm and Shaw avenues. The remodel will add a watch boutique and a coffee bar, turning the longtime Fresno jeweler into more of a destination and less of a quick stop.

The move fits a business that has survived by adapting without losing its identity. Orloff Jewelers says it was founded in 1955 and is now in its third generation of family ownership. The store’s path through Fresno has tracked the city’s retail shifts, from Tulare Street to Fulton Mall, then to Manchester Mall and, since 1982, Fig Garden Village, where it first operated as Prince Orloff & Son Jewelers. In 1990, after James and Mary Ann Orloff took full ownership, the business was renamed Orloff Jewelers.

Kathleen Price, the company’s director of operations and business development, said the goal was to offer more than a transaction and to serve the third-generation shoppers who still come in to say hello to the Orloff family. That strategy is reinforced by the store’s service model: a 2024 profile noted that Orloff staff do not work on commission, a detail that has long set the jeweler apart in a category often driven by pressure sales.

Before the renovation is complete, Orloff will temporarily move into the former Wells Fargo building next door from mid-May through about November while the current store is remodeled. A remodeling sale begins May 1 and will discount merchandise by as much as 60 percent, giving loyal customers a short window to shop before the transition.

The expansion also says something about Fig Garden Village itself. Built in 1956 by Ellen and Allen Funch, the center was Fresno’s first regional shopping center. It is now under DRA Advisors and CenterCal, which have said they plan upgrades and tenant expansion. A current CenterCal directory still lists Orloff Jewelers at the center, underscoring that the store remains a major tenant even as the property changes around it.

Orloff’s decision to invest at this scale signals confidence in a shopping district that is being rebuilt through reinvestment, not replacement. Uncle Harry’s NY Bagelry & Coffeehouse reopened nearby in 2025, and now one of Fig Garden Village’s oldest local names is betting that more curated retail, longer visits and familiar family service can keep it relevant for the next generation.