What's Actually Open Inside Hanford's Old Courthouse Now?
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
"That's what organically brings back a town," Kevin Nickell told the Hanford Sentinel when asked about the Old Courthouse in Civic Park. He was describing a simple chain of events. People who visit the courthouse have to park downtown, and then they walk past everyone else's storefronts on the way in.
Nickell co-owns Esteem Land Company, which now owns the building. The building is being renovated from the basement up, one floor at a time. So the businesses open there in October 2026 are small, and they're on the lower levels. The brewery that the whole deal was built around comes last, on the top floor. In the meantime, the courthouse relies on Civic Park's event calendar to bring people through its doors.
The Hanford City Council approved the disposition and development agreement with Esteem on November 5, 2024, KMPH reported at the time. According to the Sentinel's later account, the purchase closed in late 2025 after a long negotiation, at a price of $1.
The low price came with conditions. Esteem agreed to bring BarrelHouse Brewing Company into the building and to renovate it so it would be habitable and ADA compliant. The building had sat abandoned for years. Reviving downtown was part of why the City agreed to sell it.
The buyers are local. Nickell and co-founder Jason Carvalho grew up in Lemoore. They worked together at Carvalho Construction, started BarrelHouse in 2013, and founded Esteem in 2020 after noticing that BarrelHouse locations tended to lift the businesses around them. Esteem also owns the Wealth Center Building downtown. Before the courthouse, the company had tried and failed to buy the Bastille building.
Nickell estimated the work could cost more than $1 million. It covers new plumbing, electrical, elevators and bathrooms, while keeping the building's historic character. In January 2026, the Hanford Insider reported that the full rehabilitation would take at least three years. The plan was for early tenants to open within about six months, once the core systems were safe and reliable.
Basement-first renovation explains the current tenant list. The Sentinel's spring report estimated the finished building at 13 to 15 storefronts. Here is what the public record shows today:
Main Street Hanford moved into the courthouse in February, after 20 years on Lacey Boulevard. Executive director Michelle Brown told the Sentinel she had wanted the organization's offices in the building since her first tour with Nickell, about six years earlier. Some Main Street Hanford event listings still show the old 219 W. Lacey Blvd. address.
Nickell also said the smallest units, about 200 square feet each, were drawing the most demand. That matches who has moved in so far. A speech therapist, a salon and an esthetician are all businesses that can open in a small finished room. A brewery taproom needs a full floor, and that floor has to wait for the renovation to reach it.
Of the open tenants, Turnstyle Gaming says the most about how the building works right now. Owner Wesley Turner opened the gaming lounge about four and a half years ago at Tenth and Fargo avenues. He moved it downtown after receiving an invitation to the remodeled courthouse.
The new space is bigger, with several ways to play. According to the Sentinel, one player pays $10 an hour, $30 a day or $120 a month for the emulator, retro, PC and virtual reality stations. Claw machines and arcade cabinets, including Dance Dance Revolution, take cash and Tap to Pay with no hourly charge. Turnstyle also hosts birthday parties, corporate events, school field trips, and tournaments for Super Smash Bros., Tekken 8 and Street Fighter.
Turner told the Hanford Sentinel that business started slowly after the move, but he has since seen "a dramatic increase." His busiest night ever was the Blues and Roots Festival downtown. That is the foot-traffic idea Nickell described, and it is already working for one tenant, months before the brewery opens. Until the third floor is finished, the courthouse's busiest nights depend on what's happening outside in Civic Park.
The courthouse renovation is happening alongside other turnover a short walk away.
Poor Richard's on Seventh Street. The family-owned pizzeria dates to the 1980s. Main Street Hanford announced in the spring that it would open a second location at 106 W. 7th St., in the former Hop Forged Brewing Company space. The Sentinel reported that it officially opened May 28 and was busy through its first 10 days. That filled a vacancy Brown had mentioned in the spring. In the same interview where she talked about the steady calls from businesses wanting courthouse space, she said it was "disheartening" to see Hop Forge close.
Salmon's Furniture Galleries on East Seventh. In September 2026, owner Craig Johnson announced his retirement and the eventual closing of the 35,000-square-foot showroom at 112 E. Seventh St. A final liquidation sale is underway. The Sentinel's report gave no closing date and named no future occupant for the building.
The courthouse is filling in with small units, Seventh Street has a returning local restaurant, and a large showroom is closing out. All of it sits within a few blocks of Civic Park, where the fall calendar brings in the crowds.
These are the dates currently posted for downtown and Civic Park, with today being October 12:
Winter Wonderland opens in the same park where the courthouse stands. From November 21 through January 11, the building's open tenants will be next door to the Winter Wonderland season in Civic Park, while the third floor waits for BarrelHouse.
Ruben has spent more than a decade chairing Visalia's historic preservation board and has worked on more than 100 local homes. That experience has shown him what it takes to bring an old building back to life, from upgrading its systems to finding the right tenants or buyers. If you own a character home near Civic Park and want to talk through how its history and condition affect what it's worth, Ruben Olguin is a phone call away. Schedule a free consultation.
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