Downtown Fresno landmark reopens as members-only farmers market and cafe. It’s also on TV

The sign hanging outside of the Santa Fe Hotel building may be the one thing that hasn’t changed at the Shepherd’s Inn in downtown Fresno.

It still has the Shepherd’s crook — a nod to the one-time inhabitants of historic building just across from Fresno’s train depot — and a martini glass and the words “Basque and American dining.”

But much of the rest of the old bar and restaurant is almost unrecognizable.

That’s thanks to entrepreneur Elaine Culotti, who spent several months with the Shepherd’s Inn owners and staff working to renovate and revamp the business as part of the Discovery Channel show “Undercover Billionaire.” The second season of the show, which features Culotti time in Fresno, premiered Jan. 6. Wednesday.

Episode two, in which Culotti discovers the Shepherd’s Inn airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

“It was basically a bar and a restaurant, and a restaurant that was basically faltering,” says Christopher Caillier, who worked at the Shepherd’s Inn for almost five years and now serves as its retail manager.

Under Culotti’s eye, the re-imagined Shep’s Club has a members-only policy and five-in-one hybrid business model.

There’s a deli, a bar, a fresh grocery, a coffee shop and a 24-room hotel available to members and through Airbnb.

Five offerings in one location

The wooden bar, iconic to Shepherd’s Inn regulars, is still intact, though it’s now being used as a deli-counter where employees slice meats for made-to-order sandwiches and chopped salads. The wood pillars remain, but the room has been painted white and clean.

The liquor has moved across the foyer into what was a banquet room space. It now operates as a speakeasy, specializing in bourbon and whiskey — more than 70 are available on a rotating basis, including Jack Daniels Single Barrel.

Shep’s Club bought the actual barrel.

It sits in the corner of the room. Bottles are for sale and come with a specialized Shepherd’s Inn medallion.

The dining room, which once hosted the Inn’s famous family-style feasts, now serves the heart of the business: an indoor farmer’s market with fresh produce, local-made jams and barbecue sauces, olive oil and wines, craft beer and milk. The market partnered with area farmers to get daily deliveries of beets and radishes, colorful cauliflower and an array of citrus fruits.

The market also operates a produce delivery box service at freshfarmtogo.com.

Out back is the coffee shop, which offers espresso drinks, smoothies and teas, along with pastries, avocado toast and breakfast burritos. The cafe has its own entrance off P Street (you’ll see the white wall and sliding door) and is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

It’s the only part of the Shep’s Club that’s open to the public, though members do get benefits.

A large patio offers outdoor seating and is set off by a stage. Caillier says the club will host live music once pandemic restrictions allow.

Upstairs, the hotel rooms are a throwback to a different time. They are small and sparse — just a bed and closet and sink— but with a boutique feel. The bathrooms are communal.

Celebrating region’s ag heritage

Membership to the club is $120 annually, or $10 a month, and grants access to all the facilities, plus discounts and eventually invitations to special events.

Shepherd’s Inn was shuttered in March because of coronavirus restrictions, Caillier says. When Shep’s Club reopened in October, it was as a vital, sustainable and essential business; one that relies on and celebrates of area’s agricultural heritage. That’s the experience Shep’s Club is looking to add to downtown Fresno, he says.

“It’s so much more than renovating a property or business or building.”

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.