After 80 years, Hob Nob Hill closed its doors on March 2 until the beloved American cuisine restaurant and bakery reopens under new ownership.

Doug Hamm, founder of Black Swan Hospitality, is only the third owner of the eatery known for making everything from scratch in house. Hamm currently owns Nolita Hall in Little Italy and has several upcoming restaurants in Pacific Beach, Bankers Hill and other parts of the city.

While the exact timeline is unknown, former owner Tania Warchol said the closure is to install a new Point of Sale (POS) system, make minor interior updates, and finalize the staff. Many current staff members had already reapplied for their positions in February.

When Warchol and her husband first purchased Hob Nob Hill from its original owner Harold Hoersch, who founded the restaurant with his late wife Dorothy Hoersch as Juniper Café in 1944, the pair were interviewed about their plans for the restaurant. Hoersch decided to sell to them rather than others because of their promise to keep Hob Nob’s legacy intact.

As Warchol looked for a buyer so she could retire on her terms after the 80th anniversary in October, Hamm was the first serious offer. He visited the restaurant to scope it out, which reassured her. “He came to the restaurant, so that’s how interested he was,” Warchol said. They have yet to meet but she admires his reputation for running the well-renowned Nolita Hall.

While Hob Nob Hill saw record-breaking success in 2022 through 2024 with more customers and revenue than ever, Warchol said being an independent operator of the restaurant became more stressful. “I’m just tired,” she said. Adapting to labor laws for her staff of 50 and constant changes to technology were a challenge amid rising prices.

While always tied to its history, Hob Nob Hill went through huge changes in the past five years after Warchol won a lottery for a hard liquor license. She renovated the interior to have a “Wizard of Oz” theme after Dorothy Hoersch with a full bar. Plus, she kept the outdoor seating COVID-19 rules allowed.

With added patio space, more customers than ever visited the restaurant. Upwards of 400 people ate at Hob Nob Hill on a good weekend day. Plus, she brought in a silent partner who ran the restaurant’s social media accounts. A bigger social media presence introduced the historic restaurant to a younger generation while the older adults who make daily or weekly trips to the restaurant remained loyal. Warchol wonders how those loyal customers will cope in the interim months of the closure.

“(As) I was heading out today, I got stopped by four different tables. One man was rubbing his eyes like, ‘I have tears in my eyes, but I’m so happy for you,’” Warchol said in February. She herself cried when she made the announcement to the staff after escrow ended. A few staff members have been at Hob Nob for decades and the rest have stayed since being hired after the pandemic. “They understand. They saw the stress in my face,” she said.

Each of them have her phone number. She may find it strange after she retires and is not woken up by texts. She will no longer need to leave her house by 7 a.m. to beat the breakfast crowd at the full service restaurant. Warchol had to do a few last-minute things including payroll on March 2 but then she gets to start her retirement after 32 years at the helm of the Bankers Hill restaurant.

She hopes to pick up her granddaughter from Pre-K and take more family trips to Las Gaviotas near Rosarito, Mexico with her newfound free time.

“There’s a house there that we rent right on the beach. My husband, he paddle surfs, so he goes out right there, and we just stay there and decompress. All your worries just go away. We haven’t been there in probably a year and a half. He keeps asking me, ‘When are we going to go? When can we go? When can we go?’ And I’m like, ‘I have payroll. I have this.’ It’s been an excuse for over a year now,” Warchol said.

For the first time in three decades, she is giving up control of the restaurant, entrusting Hamm to continue its historic reign as a premier American classics restaurant.

(Courtesy image)