Landmark Sarasota restaurant Hob Nob closes after 67 years

Stools and tables are being unscrewed from the ground at the Hob Nob Drive In, where the landmark Sarasota restaurant closed Wednesday, May 15. It opened in 1957.

“I’ve had a great career,” says co-owner Cary Spicuzza, 67, who took over the Hob Nob when he was 34. He had been a waiter at Marina Jack in Sarasota while working on his master’s degree in business. He stopped taking classes after getting involved with the Hob Nob, and his life forever changed.