Hobee's, a local restaurant chain known for its breakfasts and signature blueberry coffeecake, is closing its original location in Mountain View. Palo Alto Weekly file photo.
The original Hobee’s site in Mountain View will close after a final day of business Nov. 26, owners announced in a press release Nov. 14.
The move comes as Camille and Daniel Chijate, the married co-owners of the local restaurant chain, prepare to open a new Hobee’s restaurant and beer garden in downtown San Jose and after the couple weighed “sluggish post-pandemic weekday sales and the expense of necessary upgrades to the aging facility,” according to the press release.
“My husband and I have witnessed the ebbs and flows of Silicon Valley,” Camille Chijate said. “The pandemic was like a sneaker wave that no one saw coming, and we are still emerging from it. Hobee’s Mountain View, for all its cozy charm, is outdated and in need of costly repairs.”
Additional updates about the closure will be shared through the restaurant chain’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Founder Paul Taber and his family opened the first Hobee’s in March 1974 at the Mountain View Retail Center at Central Expressway and Rengstorff Avenue, the site of a converted Dairy Belle. It grew from a small takeout window operation to a Silicon Valley chain and household name known for its extensive breakfast menu and signature blueberry coffeecake.
Camille Chijate, who also serves as company president, worked as a Hobee’s server, general manager and area manager over a 28-year span before she and her husband purchased Hobee’s from the Taber family in 2017. Its remaining restaurants are in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Redwood Shores along with the new San Jose outpost slated to open at 261 N 2nd St. Mountain View employees will be offered positions at one of the other locations.
“While we’re excited about our new concept in downtown San Jose, we are going to have a very tough time saying farewell to Hobee’s Mountain View and all of its dedicated regulars,” she said.
Hobee’s, 2312 Central Expressway, Mountain View; 650-968-6050, Instagram: @hobeesrestaurants. Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.