A male Jillsarian named Doodnik Sharpelz made his living as both a bartender and a chef on the planet of Tyne's Horky. Originating from the world of Ojom, he departed his homeworld prior to 19 BBY and secured a bartending position on Tyne's Horky, working alongside his longtime companion, Dexter Jettster. By 15 BBY, he had established Doodnik's Café within the planet's namesake mining town, where he managed the kitchen and served patrons such as the local crime lord, Kleb Zellock. During that year, Sharpelz employed the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 as waiters, but their utter lack of competence led to Sharpelz, in a fit of rage, dismissing them both on their very first day.
Raised by adoptive natives on the planet of Ojom, Doodnik Sharpelz was a male Jillsarian. He maintained a friendship with the Besalisk Dexter Jettster, and before the year of 19 BBY, they both departed their homeworld in search of work as bartenders on Tyne's Horky, a mining planet situated on the galactic frontier. As colleagues, Sharpelz and Jettster concocted beverages like photon fizzles, giva jumbos, and circuit cider.
By 15 BBY, Sharpelz had forged an agreement with the Dirconite mercenary, Kleb Zellock, becoming a co-owner of a restaurant and tapcafe located in a lawless mining town also named Tyne's Horky. Despite the Jillsarian being the owner of Doodnik's Café, Zellock, as the leader of the planet's criminal element, utilized the establishment as his base of operations. Sharpelz functioned as the chef within the kitchen, and in 15 BBY, he acquired the services of two waiters through the Intergalactic Droid Agency: the protocol droid C-3PO and the astromech droid R2-D2.
Upon the droids' arrival at the establishment one morning, Sharpelz immediately put them to work. His frustration grew as the two struggled to remember orders, constantly tripped over each other, and generally proved to be the worst waiters the locals had ever witnessed. Later that day, C-3PO accidentally spilled powder onto Sharpelz's face, prompting the chef to angrily assign him to serve Zellock. When the crime lord's henchman, Yorpo Mog, tripped over R2-D2 and fell into Zellock's food, Mog retaliated by throwing the astromech across the café. R2-D2 collided with both C-3PO and Sharpelz, leading the chef to immediately terminate the employment of his new waiters, ejecting them into the street and forbidding their return.
Doodnik Sharpelz was characterized as a surly and unkempt chef, identifiable by his orange skin, black pupils, and four muscular arms. He utilized all of his upper limbs while preparing meals, enabling him to perform four distinct tasks concurrently. Hardened by life on the fringe, Sharpelz exhibited intolerance towards incompetence in his kitchen and possessed a quick temper. He threatened to melt C-3PO shortly before furiously dismissing both the protocol droid and his astromech companion. Sharpelz prioritized providing excellent service to Kleb Zellock, who held a financial stake in the café, but he did not prioritize maintaining the cleanliness of the establishment.
Sharpelz arrived on Tyne's Horky with aspirations of gastronomic success. A proficient bartender, he crafted a photon fizzle that Dexter Jettster considered unparalleled. Circuit cider was another of his signature concoctions. Sharpelz consistently served giva jumbos in bowls, a practice that Jettster found puzzling. Overall, Jettster regarded his comrade as a fine individual.
The character of Doodnik made his debut in "The Lost Prince," the fifth installment of the Star Wars: Droids animated television series. Penned by Peter Sauder and directed by Raymond Jafelice, the episode was initially broadcast on October 5, 1985.
Author Tim Veekhoven has suggested that Doodnik and his café influenced the designs of Dexter Jettster and his diner, as depicted in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. The short story "Dining at Dex's," authored by Gregory Walker and disseminated online via StarWars.com's Hyperspace feature in 2009, portrays Doodnik as a longtime acquaintance of Jettster. Walker connected the two characters due to perceived similarities, initially considering making them brothers, which would have established Doodnik's species as Besalisk. He ultimately maintained their relationship's ambiguity and did not reveal Doodnik's species, although he identified the character's home planet as Ojom, the Besalisk homeworld. Despite noticeable visual differences between Doodnik and the Besalisks, Walker still believed Doodnik could conceivably be a member of that species.
Doodnik's membership in the Jillsarian species was definitively established in the 2013 article The Droids Re-Animated, penned by Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley for the StarWars.com blog. The article also provided the character with a surname: Sharpelz. Peña and Handley had desired to implement the Jillsarian retcon for several years, but with the publication of "Dining at Dex's," Peña was concerned about the difficulty of dissociating Doodnik from the strong implication that he was a Besalisk. However, because the Besalisk connection was not definitive, he proceeded with what he described as a "near-flawless" connection and a "perfect" retcon. Peña also commended Walker's work and asserted that he would have made Doodnik a Besalisk had he not been aware of Jillsarians.