Venerable Hofbrau Closing After 42 Years in San Jose

San Jose’s Harry’s Hofbrau, an old-school cafeteria known for whole roasted turkey and hand-carved meats, will close for good today after dinner service at 11 p.m. The restaurant’s end comes after 42 years due to redevelopment plans for the building.

In typical hofbrau fashion, Harry’s serves a variety of comfort food classics, like roast beef, corned beef, pastrami, and other meats, either served with mashed potatoes and other sides or on a sandwich. Daily specials bring chicken fried steak, rotisserie chicken, beef stroganoff, and weinerschnitzel to the masses. And more recently, Harry’s became a beer destination in its own right, with more than 30 beers across a variety of styles on tap.

It’s been a rough time for hofbraus in the Bay Area, with 60-year-old Brennan’s closing in Berkeley last year and Union Square’s Lefty O’Doul’s closing the year prior. (The latter, however, has reopened as a tricked-out tourist buffet on Fisherman’s Wharf.) And it’s been rough for Peninsula classics in general, with the last year’s loss of the Oasis Beer Garden, a favorite Stanford University hangout in Menlo Park that closed after 60 years.

For Harry’s Hofbrau fans already pining for another hot turkey sandwich, there is still hope in the future: The hofbrau’s locations in Redwood City and San Leandro will remain open.

• After 42 years, Harry’s Hofbrau is closing in San Jose [Mercury News]
• Harry’s Hofbrau [official]