Today is your last day to get a fresh, hot, Casper’s Hot Dog in Manteca.

At least for a while.

After nearly a year at the helm of The Hob Nob – the small peculiarly-shaped eatery on North Main Street near the Casino Real card room – owners Patty and Gilbert Cortez are closing up shop after today to transition to a new facility at the food court inside of the Sherwood Mall in Stockton.

While it isn’t necessarily a move that they wanted to make, the couple said that they didn’t much of a choice and are looking at coming back to Manteca at the first opportunity.

“We’ve had such a good experience meeting everybody – we love the people of Manteca, and they welcomed us,” Patty Cortez said. “I love being there every day and serving the community and this is not something that we wanted to have happen – we want to find a way to get back.”

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. the couple will be at the restaurant – located at 1315 N. Main Street – serving up the same famous East Bay hot dogs that drawn customers for decades.

The facility inside of the Sherwood Mall is expected to open on May 1.

Bay Area natives themselves, the couple began building relationships with people from the East Bay that recognized the iconic hot dog brand and were thrilled to find it available in their new community.

According to Patty there was one family that stumbled upon the restaurant by accident that told her that they had been driving back to Hayward on the weekends as a family for a Casper’s hot dog for some time and were thrilled to find out that they didn’t have to make that drive any more.

They had been coming to The Hob Nob on Saturdays ever since.

The couple’s daughter, Carla Longshore, has been helping staff the restaurant and learning the ropes with the hopes of one day going into what has long been the family business – going back to their days in the Bay Area.

When the opportunity arose to operate a restaurant in Manteca with the brand recognition that The Hob Nob brought with it, Patty Cortez said that it was like a “dream come true” and has nothing but love and appreciation for the people of Manteca that have kept their doors open for the last year – even during a global pandemic.

“We just want everybody to know that this isn’t a voluntary thing – we didn’t want to leave,” Gilbert Cortez said. “We live three minutes away – we are Mantecans. And this city has been good to us.

“Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar location or a food truck sort of thing, we’re going to try and find a way to come back to Manteca.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.