SAN DIEGO — Sometimes in life it's best to just say you're sorry. In this Zevely Zone, I went to Bankers Hill to the iconic restaurant called Hob Nob Hill for damage control. The restaurant is the type of place where before you walk in the door you hear about their home cooking. "They have the best pies," said a nice lady on the sidewalk. I told her, "I've never been inside but we are here because of what happened a couple of weeks ago. There was a bit of a mix up. Did you see that on TV?" She immediately said, "Yeah. I did." Everybody else did too which is why I returned.
I don't want a story that caused confusion to be confusing so let's start with the basics: Hob Nob Hill is celebrating its 75 year anniversary, but 25 years ago when News 8's Larry Himmel visited the restaurant they were celebrating their 50 year anniversary. On that day, the restaurant rolled their prices back to their original menu from 1944. We interviewed a man in 1994 who told us, "I had Eggs Benedict for 95 cents can you believe that?"
The owner of the restaurant, Tania Warchol, will never forget that day because prices were so low, the line wrapped around the building. "Ham and eggs was like a $1.10. It was just so crazy for us to do that." So imagine Tania's surprise when News 8 re-aired that story from 1994 for a segment we call Throwback Thursday. Our viewers thought those low prices were being served up again. "People were calling like crazy asking 'are you selling your Prime Rib dinner for $ 1.95?' And we were like no!" said Tania. I asked her, "How many phone calls did you get?" Tania said, "Oh at least 75 or 80. My manager didn't know what to do, she said 'girls get the phone I can't handle it anymore."
I invited News 8's Throwback Producer Barb Nielsen to the diner. Barb is the one who aired Larry's old story that caused the confusion. Turns out, all of the fuss was good for business, even though customers did not receive 1944 prices. "I am so sorry," said Barb. Tania looked at our camera, gave Barb a big hug and said, "She is so sorry but she is a very nice lady so don't don't be upset with her." Barb then exhaled and said, "Oh thank you."
The restaurant known for great food now has a great story about their anniversary menu mix up. So, next time you see a throwback story on News 8, try to remember we are re-airing a story from the past so any offers you see will be dated and no longer available.
One thing everyone can all agree on, Larry Himmel must be looking down on us laughing his brains out.
If you want to enjoy a wonderful meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a friendly staff go to their website for the restaurant's address and menu information.