Dosan, set to open in Clovis next month, joins two beloved and missed restaurant concepts in Fresno -- Sweet Tomatoes and Silver Dollar Hofbrau. Photo contributed

A familiar Clovis spot is undergoing a transformation to bring back two long-missed dining experiences in one.

Dosan, set to open in early September, will combine an upscale, Sweet Tomatoes-style salad bar with the long-missed Hofbrau-inspired carving station, complete with a full bar and weekend brunch service.

The building is a familiar place for Clovis residents; located at 80 W. Shaw Ave., the prominent space may be recognized as the former home of Indian restaurant Haveli. In the mid 2010s, owner Junior Dosanjh relocated from the Bay Area to operate the restaurant as Elephant Lounge. He fell in love with the building and was drawn to the concept of bringing Indian food to the Valley.

In 2020, the business shifted to a Straw Hat Pizza franchise just as COVID-19 hit.

“It really didn’t take off at that time,” operations manager Aman Singh said. “It required a lot of marketing and things like that, and us who were not able to come out of our houses — it was just not the right time to start a business or change a business concept.”

While the pandemic posed a significant challenge to the Straw Hat franchise, its effect on local favorite salad bar restaurant Sweet Tomatoes was more pronounced, effectively shuttering the long-time location as the chain collapsed in 2020.

The closure of the restaurant paired with the slow build of Dosanjh’s Straw Hat Pizza franchise led to the idea of rebranding into the new concept — Dosan.

“Our plan is to create an elegant, upscale salad bar environment. We [will] have a full bar, a martini-style lunch and dinner offering,” Singh said.

The Hofbrau-style carving station draws inspiration from the restaurant’s executive chef, who worked at Hofbrau early in his career and wanted to reintroduce the long-missed concept to the Valley.

“One of the other things that the Valley has been missing is the old Hofbrau,” Singh said. “We’re combining both of those elements — the Sweet Tomatoes and Hofbrau-style carving station, complemented with a full bar.”

Silver Dollar Hofbrau, located on Shaw Avenue just off Highway 41, closed in 2015, making way for Hustler Hollywood.

The duo has been working late nights to meet their short turnaround.

“I think we’re able to do it just because we have the right people and the right team,” Dosanjh said.

“We treat our team as a family,” Singh added.

The restaurant’s name, Dosan, is a play off the owner’s name and comes from two Indian words, according to Singh; Do: two people, and Sanjh: relationships and togetherness. Singh said it reflects both their working partnership and their goals of bringing “two of their favorites” back to the community.

Customers at Dosan will be greeted by a hostess who will direct them to the 25-food, double-sided salad bar or the carving station for made-to-order sandwiches. Certain days will also feature “action stations,” such as pasta bars, featuring preparation at guests’ tables.

The “oasis-style” bar will feature a separate menu, including charcuterie boards, spinach and artichoke dip, sliders and other bites.

The space also features outdoor patio seating for up to 90 guests. The building is more than 8,100 square feet, according to Loopnet. 

“A lot of people don’t realize the size of this building,” Dosanjh said, adding that it can handle both large gatherings and the new dining concepts.

The restaurant will look to hire at least 10 employees for positions ranging from kitchen staff and bartenders to front-of-house staff.