Mountain View: After 49 years, original Hobee’s will close as new San Jose location opens

Hobee’s co-owners Camille and Daniel Chijate issued a sad, heartfelt announcement Tuesday:

Their Mountain View location — the original in this chain that serves big breakfasts with their famous blueberry coffeecake — will shut down just after Thanksgiving, at the end of business Sunday, Nov. 26.

The couple, who bought the restaurant group in 2017, called it a “difficult decision.” But “sluggish post-pandemic weekday sales and the expense of necessary upgrades to the aging facility” made it necessary, Camille Chijate wrote.

“My husband and I have witnessed the ebbs and flows of Silicon Valley. The pandemic was like a sneaker wave that no one saw coming, and we are still emerging from it,” she said in the announcement. “Hobee’s Mountain View, for all its cozy charm, is outdated and in need of costly repairs.

“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.”

Founder Paul Taber and family opened in Mountain View in 1974, and readers of The Mountain View Voice have chosen Hobee’s as the city’s Best Breakfast more than 40 times, Chijate said.

Mountain View fans won’t have far to go for their Hobee’s fix, however. The Palo Alto location is two miles away, and the Sunnyvale one about five miles away. Up the Peninsula is the Redwood Shores location.

The Mountain View employees will be offered jobs at one of those locations, Chijate said.

And a new restaurant is coming. In June, the Chijates announced that they will open an eatery and beer garden in downtown San Jose’s Germania Hall, a North Second Street landmark since the late 1800s. Working has been proceeding on that location since summer, with an opening date expected soon.

Details: Until closing day, the Mountain View Hobee’s will serve from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2312 Central Expressway; www.hobee’s.com