Hobie's restaurant to close; MSU memorabilia will be up for auction

EAST LANSING - After 49 years in the same spot, the family-owned Hobie's Cafe and Pub prepares to close by the end of this month. 

The final day of business at 930 Trowbridge Road is Dec. 30, said Jane Kleiman, Hobie's owner. 

Kleiman said Thursday she decided Hobie's must close because of a lack of patrons, rising operating costs for the 75-year-old building its housed in and the expiration of its lease in October. 

“You would think we would just be absolutely slammed," Kleiman said. "We have a very loyal customer base. I would do somersaults to keep it up for them.

"But financially you have to make decisions based on what's right for me and my family." 

Over the years, Hobie's has been a popular place for Michigan State coaches and student-athletes, Kleiman said.

A message posted Friday afternoon on the Hobie's Facebook page:

She said the Michigan State University sports memorabilia scattered throughout the restaurant will go up for auction in January. That includes all tables made out of Breslin Center's old basketball floor. 

Kleiman said Rick Comley, MSU's former hockey coach, was a regular as were several of his players. Comley retired in 2011.

One of Hobie's most popular menu items over the years was the Spartan sandwich, which features ham, turkey, roast beef and salami topped with lettuce, Monterey jack cheese, tomato, red onion and Hobie's secret sauce.   

It's a sad time for Kleiman and Randy Kleiman, her husband, but they will consider over the next few weeks possibly opening a new Hobie's location. 

To do so, Jane Kleiman said they would need to find a building worth buying. And it doesn't necessarily have to be in East Lansing. 

"Rent is always one of those unknown factors," she said. 

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The Kleimans intend to keep the liquor license it has for Hobie's in case they find a new restaurant location. 

Hobie's is housed in the Trowbridge Plaza at Trowbridge and Harrison roads. It's an area that has undergone several multimillion-dollar makeovers.

A mixed-use project with condominiums popped up south of the plaza a few years ago. 

Arizona-based Fresh Thyme Farmers Market opened in the plaza, a few storefronts from Hobie's, about three years ago in an upgraded space that had previously been the long-time home of Goodrich's Shop-Rite.

Goodrich's was a family-owned grocery anchor that had been in the plaza since 1967.

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.