Bigger home for Little Hobo

Photo: Carmen Weld

The Little Hobo isn't so little anymore.

The cult-classic foodie favourite of downtown Kelowna is bursting at its seams and is moving to a bigger and better location at the former Streaming Cafe, 596 Leon Avenue, this October.

The Hobo has been in the same location, in some incarnation or another, since 1975. At one point, it was one of seven chain restaurants.

The current reiteration on Lawrence Avenue opened in September 2011, the dream of Stephen MacDonald and partner Crystal Dougan.

Before long, the downtown-business-lunch community began to love the scrumptious lunches and comfy soups and word spread.

Last year, Castanet shared that the little soup and sandwich shop had earned the accolade of the best restaurant in B.C., according to the online review website TripAdvisor, and it hasn't slowed down since.

Their following means many regulars can't always get in the door or get their favourite perogies, and the owners want to fix that.

“Our customers prompted this move,” says Dougan. “We've been getting so many customers and we like to make everyone happy, but we've found that our regulars are sometimes coming in and looking at the lineup and heading the other way, because we don't have enough seating or enough room or even enough time.”

MacDonald says they didn't want this move or expansion. He says they were even asked last year, following all the media coverage, whether they wanted to keep growing, and they had said no, but now success is forcing their hands.

“We didn't want to grow, we wanted to stay as we were, we said we would rather crest the wave until it mellowed out, but the reality is, it just didn't stop,” says MacDonald.

“We had to take steps to mitigate the growth, because we are just busting at the seams right now. For us to continue to do what we want to do and not burn out, we have to move and grow and put a couple cooks behind us.”

The new Leon location will have seating for more than 80 guests, including a patio with 20 seats.

“You will have the option of sitting outside too, or if you have a pet or something with you, you can hang out on the patio,” says Dougan.

“We have more room! We have more bathrooms. We also have family and wheelchair accessibility now, which is really nice. And, we will have a real dishwasher too.”

The Leon spot will also include a full commercial kitchen, which means the duo can bring back some of the menu favourites they were forced to remove amid the rush, including the Hobo breakfast and the Hobo burgers.

“Some favourite menu items are coming back,” says Dougan. “We are looking to add some other things, but people don't need to worry we aren't taking anything away.”

The bigger location will also allow MacDonald and Dougan to restart their catering company, which is an exciting prospect for the couple.

The new location will also have a liquor licence that will allow the Hobo to provide customers with a cold beer or glass of wine for those who want a little something extra with their lunch.

The Little Hobo will continue to run and serve food at the Lawrence location throughout July, August and September.

If everything goes as planned the duo hopes to open the new location on Oct. 3 with extended hours and new menu items.

“We are scared, but we are moving forward,” says Dougan. “We've outgrown this space.”