Craig Hofman has spent his entire life with Hof’s Hut — the Long Beach staple serving breakfast, burgers and pies. As Hofman tells it, his mother was waiting tables in 1951 at the first Hof’s Hut in Belmont Shore when she went into labor.
“She had me that same day,” Hofman said. “So I was kind of born into the business 75 years ago.”
This week, Hofman, the chairman of the board for Hofman Hospitality Group, is celebrating his birthday along with the restaurant’s 75th anniversary. On Wednesday, customers can get $7.50 burgers and coupons for individual pies at their Seal Beach location.
Before there was Hof’s Hut, there was Hoffman’s (originally misspelled on the sign), a small beachstand on Alamitos Beach owned by Hofman’s grandmother, a Dutch immigrant. The stand sold burgers and hot dogs and would close during the winters. But Hofman’s father, Harold, decided to open his own restaurant year-round with a bigger menu.
Harold opened the original Hof’s Hut in Belmont Shore on Sept. 16, 1951. It was a small space with only 15 stools around a U-shaped bar that was open 24 hours, according to Craig.
“My dad’s nickname was ‘Hof’ from Hofman, and the cooking area had a kind of hut, so that’s where the name originated,” Craig said.
Craig says the “Hofburger” — a standard burger with thousand island dressing, lettuce, tomato and pickles on a sesame brioche bun — is his go-to along with the fresh peach pie, when in season.
In the early years, Craig’s family employed “lady pie-makers,” who would come into the kitchens and bake a variety of seasonal pies. One of their first pie makers was Marie Callender — yes, the Marie Callender, who later went on to open her own chain of restaurants, bakeries and frozen food franchises.
Craig started working at Hof’s Hut as a “soda jerk” making malts, shakes and root beer floats when he was 12 years old.
Growing up, Craig saw the restaurant as something interesting his parents did and a steady summer job. It wasn’t until 1969, when Harold died from a heart attack and Craig graduated from high school, that he began to focus on the family business.
After his father’s passing, Craig started college at Arizona State University and his mother, Donna, took over the business.
“I think it was very hard for her,” Craig said. “But she was a very strong-willed woman and she knew what she wanted. Not a lot of women at that time were running a business.”
Donna distinguished the family restaurant by adding outdoor patios — a rare feature for restaurants in the 1970s. Craig recalls that after his mother returned from a trip to Paris in 1971, she added patio spaces at Hof’s Hut restaurants. “It became a real success,” Craig said. “Then when every Hof’s Hut was either remodeled or a new one, we added patios. Outdoor patios became kind of the norm.”
Eventually, Donna told Craig that if he wanted to see Hof’s Hut continue, he needed to come home to help. He transferred to Cal State Long Beach and the family expanded Hof’s Hut to 13 locations around the Long Beach area, including several in Orange County.
In the ’90s, Hofman Hospitality Group expanded to create a Southern-style barbecue restaurant, Lucille’s, to fill the barbecue gap in Long Beach. Craig converted several of the Hof’s Hut locations to Lucille’s. Today, there are 19 Lucille’s restaurants across Southern California with locations in Nevada and Arizona as well.
While only three Hof’s Huts remain (Torrance, Seal Beach and Long Beach) the restaurant continues to play a key role in Craig’s life.
All four of Craig’s children grew up working in the family restaurant and now help manage the business in different capacities. One of Craig’s grandchildren may get involved soon.
“One of them is turning 12, so he’ll be working summers there before you know it,” he said.
Looking forward, Craig hopes his children continue to expand the business and “that they continue to thrive, and enjoy what the restaurant business is all about.”
Hof’s Hut’s Seal Beach location is at 12489 Seal Beach Blvd. and is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. They also have locations in Long Beach and Torrance.