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Had things gone according to the original plan, a Denny’s restaurant would have dominated the corner of Airline Highway and Sunnyslope Road. After Nader Javid spent more than $100,000 developing the idea, he says, one of the tenants of the shopping center on that corner vetoed the idea, objecting to the franchise-required big, bright yellow sign. So Javid invested in something more intriguing: a franchise with the Florida-based Brass Tap, which opened on Nov. 18.
Javid, a 40-year resident of Hollister, has owned businesses in town for more than 30 years, including the Mountain Mike’s Pizza on McCray Street and the Speedee Lube/Midas Muffler franchise on Airline Highway, next to Thrifty’s abandoned garden shop annex. Long hours of staring at the parking lot in front of that building set Javid thinking.
“Their parking lot was empty 99% of the time,” he said. “The streets are busy, but this corner is dead. It’s like a ghost town. For 25 years, I thought, ‘I’ve got to open a business that will fill the parking lot.’”
His first attempt at reviving the empty location was the failed Denny’s. When the deal fell through, Javid sold his rights to the franchise and started looking for another opportunity, considering Applebee’s, Olive Garden and Cheesecake Factory.
“I thought, ‘Hollister people are very picky,’” Javid said. “With one of those, they might not think the food is good. I happened to be in Tampa and saw a Brass Tap. It looked good. I liked it. Then I ate the food, and I loved it.”
Finding out there were only two Brass Taps in California, Javid drove to the one in Vacaville and ordered a few things to bring back to his wife, Tanya, and his family.
“I said, ‘Honey, do you like the food?,’” he said. “She said, ‘You went all the way there to get food for me?’ I said, ‘Not the food, the business.’ I went to the other location in Corona, and I liked it, too, but I thought, ‘I can do better.’”
The menu features likely customer favorites including the Asian BBQ chicken sandwich, with Korean BBQ sauce coleslaw on a brioche bun, the Chicken Bacon Ranch Sub, with smoked bacon and Swiss cheese on a hoagie roll, and the Biggy BBQ Mac Burger, with aged cheddar, pulled pork and mac and cheese bites. All sandwiches come with fries, tots, Brussels sprouts, buffalo cauliflower or a side salad.
Customer George Diaz recommends the double cheeseburger, which he said is very juicy and cooked perfectly.
“This is a fantastic place,” he said. “The food, the atmosphere and ambiance, the bartenders, the waitresses—everything has been great”
There are also pizzas, including the Brass Tap Classic, a combination of pepperoni, Italian sausage and mushrooms; the BBQ Chicken & Bacon; and the Hot Honey Pepperoni, with ricotta cheese and basil, which Javid said is his top seller.
“The pizzas are similar to the old time,” he said. “We use a very simple tomato-based sauce made with basic ingredients. We want you to taste the sauce, cheese and toppings in a perfect balance.”
But the focus, of course, is brewed beverages, as evidenced by the 60 beers and ciders dispensed by the taps behind the bar. Aiming to reach every possible customer’s tastes, there are another 100 varieties in cans and bottles, including some favorites from Hollister’s Mad Pursuit and Nuthouse breweries. There is also a wine and cocktail menu.
“I think the Brass Tap is a good concept,” Javid said. “It’s what Hollister needed. If people wanted this kind of experience, there has been nowhere in town to go before this. People tell me that coming here is like entering a Las Vegas atmosphere, and I love how unique that is.”
The Brass Tap
1701 Airline Highway, Suite 100
Hollister, CA 95023
(831) 732-4400
Visit the Brass Tap on Instagram and Facebook
Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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