Tom and Davita Miller spent much of last year touring France, Portugal, and Spain. What the two owners of Press Box Sports Grill took away from their European vacation was a desire for a new fine dining restaurant in northwest Fresno.

“Being the fifth-largest city in the state, the 33rd largest city in the nation, it’s time to have a place that is — we’re not going to be a Michelin star restaurant, that’s not our goal — our goal though is to give you an experience, a lively experience close to that touch or flavor,” Tom Miller said.

At the corner of Herndon and Marks, near the Save Mart Supermarket, the husband-and-wife team plan to open Bulle by August.

Davita Miller described the restaurant as a garden feel with food to match.

“We want people to feel when they walk into our restaurant, I want them to feel like they are out of town,” she said.

Working with Farmers and Chefs to Develop Seasonal, ‘Hardcore Farm-to-Table’ Menu

The Millers have already hired Casey Pendergras from Studio in Laguna Beach to be their chef. The chef at Studio is helping them develop the menu for their Fresno restaurant. They also plan on having special nights where the chef from Studio will cook for special events.

They envision nights where guests will be treated to five-, 10-, or even 20-course dinners.

The vision for them is “French technique, California-modern cuisine,” Tom Miller said.

“Our goal is to go hardcore farm to table,” he said.

Being farm-to-table, the husband-and-wife team are working with farmers throughout California so they have fresh ingredients year-round. The steak will be American wagyu, fish will be as fresh as possible.

“The idea would be that it’s seasonal. If it’s squash blossoms we’re after that it’s done in one farm, and if it’s something over here, it’s done in another,” Tom Miller said.

VIP Room with Hopes for a Cigar Room for Special Guests and Investors

Bulle means “bubble” in French. That’s how they are designing the former bank. The idea would be to have guests feel like a bubble floating through an English or French garden.

“It’s a garden feel, but a very luxurious feel when you walk in,” Davita Miller said.

The 1,500-square-foot patio space will resemble a Parisian storefront.

Separate from the main dining room is where Tom Miller envisions a cigar and whiskey room for VIPs and investors. But there’s a problem: The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says “absolutely not” on the cigar side.

Tom Miller feels the issue is more about semantics than anything else. There won’t be any serving staff, he says, and they won’t be serving food in there. If it comes to needing to change the law, he said he wants to take on the cause.

“The fact that you can’t, as an adult, go sit in a room with other adults that want to smoke a cigar and drink a whiskey inside a building is crazy to me,” he said.

Bulle’s Location

Need for Fine Dining in Northwest Fresno

Tom and Davita Miller spent their European vacation touring Michelin star-rated restaurants. While Tom says the immediate goal isn’t to go after a Michelin Star rating, he doesn’t want to rule it out.

Even with other tony restaurants like Manhattan Steakhouse and Max’s Bistro a little more than a mile up the road, Tom Miller says there’s still a need for dining options in northwest Fresno. His investors agreed, he said.

“As far as Michelin star, could it happen? Sure, it could. It’s not our intent or goal right now,” Tom said. “Our goal is to source the finest foods. Our passion is to give the highest quality we can.”