One of San Francisco’s classic late-night eateries, Bob’s Donuts, is expanding outside of the foggy confines of the city for the first time.
The first new outpost will be in Mill Valley, at 252 Almonte Boulevard, which formerly housed Bamboo Hut, and is expected to open by the end of October, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
The catch is that it won’t be open 24 hours a day, like the original San Francisco location at 1621 Polk Street.
Business hours will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the possibility of extending evening hours until 9 p.m. in the future.
Bob’s Donuts has been an SF institution for late-night sweets since the 1960s.
Photo by Blair HeagertyThe second Bob’s Donuts expansion shop lands at San Jose’s extravagant Santana Row shopping complex. There are no set hours yet as it does not expect to open until summer 2023, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The San Francisco institution opened in 1960 and its namesake remains a mystery. The pastry shop, which is known for its apple fritters and novelty giant doughnut, is now owned and operated by Aya Ahn.
Although Ahn has been a co-owner for 20 years, the legend of the mythical “Bob” is still mostly unknown. SFGATE took a deep dive into the history of the store in 2019 and came to the conclusion that even if there might not be a real Bob, the people who run it today are the ones who make it special.
Family owned and operated business, Bob’s Donuts has been an SF trademark since the ’60s.
Charles Russo/SFGATE“People always ask ‘Who is the owner? Who is doing this? Who is Bob?’ Sometimes I say ‘I’m Bob, I had a sex change,’” Ahn told SFGATE in 2019. “My daughter says that we’re all Bob. We’re all part of it. Everyone has lifted us up to become who we are.”
Despite the fact that the legend of Bob runs as deep as the dough in the frying oil, Ahn and her team are taking the doughnut shop to new heights with these expansions.
There is also a second Bob’s Donuts in San Francisco located at 601 Baker Street, and it’s open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on weekends from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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