New owner at old Happy Dog in Sonoma

Buyer’s plans will remain a secret for now.|

As anyone who drives through the intersection of Highway 12 and Verano Avenue knows, Happy Dog has been closed for more than a year. Several visits to the former restaurant showed the same beer bottle and rag on a table and revealed no visible cleaning or activity going on inside.

Now, the property is in new hands. On Monday, Realtor Daniel Rogers said he represented both seller and buyer and would not answer questions of what would be going in the building. He also wouldn’t say whether it would be a restaurant, reportedly at the request of the purchasers.

Rogers said repeatedly that they “are very nice people” and “very good people” who have other businesses in Sonoma County and should make a great contribution to the community. He confirmed it was not the Mattson family, who has been buying up many vacant sites in the Valley.

The new owners mark a revival for that block. The former Mexican restaurant two doors down was leased by a New York-chef who plans to open Animo restaurant on that site.

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