Hof's Hut is a

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

home-style eatery and 1950s coffee shop-style restaurant chain that specializes in

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may app ...

s and baked goods such as

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

s. It is considered a cultural landmark and was founded by Harold Hofman in 1951. It is headquartered in Signal Hill, California. As of March 2023, the company operates 3 locations in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

History

Hofman started out with a burger stand on the beach in the 1940s at 5th Place in Long Beach serving "Hofburgers" for 15 cents. The first Hof's Hut opened on September 16, 1951, in

Belmont Shore Belmont Shore is a Neighborhoods of Long Beach, California, neighborhood in Long Beach, California. It is home to many shops, restaurants, salons and business offices. Geography Livingston Drive and 2nd Street form the heart of Belmont Shore, f ...

by Harold Hofman, the same day his son and current owner Craig Hofman was born.HOF'S HUT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS IN L.B.
September 25, 2001, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) In 1975 the chain opened its 9th restaurant, and in 1993 the chain introduced vegetarian burgers. On January 18, 2015, two fires destroyed the Bixby Knolls location reducing the number of open locations from four to three. George Kosanovich tended bar at the Hof's Hut in

Bixby Knolls Bixby Knolls is a neighborhood in Long Beach, California, named after the Bixby family. Location Bixby Knolls is an area of Long Beach adjoining North Long Beach to the north, California Heights on the southeast, Wrigley on the southwest. It ...

for 40 years and while there witnessed president John F. Kennedy getting gunned down in Dallas in 1963 on the television and watched the "fuzzy images" of the first lunar landing.

Opposition to smoking ban

In 1993, Hof's Hut opposed a statewide smoking ban applied to cocktail sections which serve food. The ban was ultimately passed.

Lucille's Smokehouse

Facing competitive pressures, Hofman started the

Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que is a chain of restaurants founded in Signal Hill, California specializing in barbecue cuisine as well as southern and Cajun style meals. The restaurants feature a southern American and Blues theme. The chain has ...

chain that has taken over some Hof's Hut locations. Competition from

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, newer casual eatery chains with more exciting atmospheres, and breakfast nooks pressured Hof's Hut at the start of the 21st century. After various experiments modifying the format at some locations, owner Craig Hofman hit on the Lucille's Smokehouse concept and has been establishing that chain while reducing the number of Hof's Hut locations from a peak of 18. Lucille's Smokehouse replaced the original Hof's Hutt Belmont Shore location in 2003. This location has since been replaced by a specialty concept called Saint and Second owned by the Hofman family.

References

External links

Official websiteFacebook.com: 1940s photograph of original Hof's Hut
{{Coord, 33.8049, -118.1606, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title Restaurants in Greater Los Angeles Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Signal Hill, California Restaurants established in 1951 1951 establishments in California