New leadership will give this iconic restaurant a revamp. (By Frank Sabatini Jr.)
Restaurant, Breakfast, Brunch, Bankers Hill

Changing of the Guard at Hob Nob Hill

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The nearly 82-year-old Bankers Hill restaurant known for its homey meals and killer coffee cake temporarily shuts down on March 2 to make way for new ownership.

The downtown-based Creative House developers recently purchased Hob Nob Hill from Tania Warchol, who bought the business in 1993 and then later purchased the 5,000-square-foot building in which it resides. The original owners were Kansas transplants Harold Hoersch and his wife Dorothy. They opened the restaurant in 1944 under the name Juniper Cafe.

A rep from Creative House, who requested anonymity, said, “We will bring back Hob Nob Hill to its former glory with more of a vintage charm—and while keeping the Hob Nob Hill name.” The person added that the redo will be “light” and many of the original recipes used over the decades will remain in place. A reopening is expected “within the next few months.”

When speaking to Warchol in late February, she said staff members from Creative House were already shadowing both the kitchen and floor staff in preparation for the transition.

Hob Nob Hill under Warchol had 42 employees, all of whom were informed in a group meeting on Feb. 10 of the sale. They were invited to reapply for their positions under the new ownership—and many had already done so, Warchol said.

In regards to her newfound retirement, Warchol added: “Free time will seem strange. I always wanted to do a Polynesian trip, so maybe that will happen. But for now I’ll just have some ‘me’ time and decompress without my phone blowing up at six in the morning every day. That alone will be a pleasure.”

Other local projects by Creative House include Nolita Hall in Little Italy and Half Door Brewing Company in the East Village.