Business Number of Smoke Shops up by 400%, Fresno Council Wants to Reverse That Saying that having a vacant storefront is better than having a smoke shop, Fresno city councilmembers announced a new ordinance to reduce the number of these stores by 70%. Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said the number of smoke shops selling tobacco products and drug paraphernalia has skyrocketed from two to 27 in his district in the past three years. One estimate from Anil Kumar, owner of AK Smoke Shop in the Tower District said Fresno has nearly 400 stores in the city, up from 91 when he started 12 years ago. Fresno City Councilmembers Annalisa Perea and Nelson Esparza presented the ordinance along wit... [Read more]