Remembering Tina Favaloro (1966 – 2013)

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All of us at Hobee’s were saddened to learn that former employee Tina Favaloro had died. Tina passed away in April in Saratoga in the company of her loving family. She had battled cancer since last spring.

Tina worked at Hobee’s Pruneyard as a server and manager for over a dozen years. She was a seasoned restaurant pro and performed her duties with confidence and an ever-present smile. Tina loved her customers and always took extra time with her regulars. Her hearty laugh could often be heard echoing through the restaurant. She was a favorite of co-workers who found her warm spirit to be inspiring and infectious.

A few weeks ago before her death, we presented Tina with our annual Hobee’s Hero Award in recognition of her strength in the face of adversity. In May, her family, friends, co-workers and even some regular Hobee’s customers gathered to celebrate her life. All of us at Hobee’s will miss her dearly. We send out our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to her daughter, Gianna, and the rest of her family.
Favaloro

 

Tina was always cheerful and upbeat. She loved Hobee’s and her regulars.   

Check Out Our Gluten-Free Menu!

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After repeated requests from our friends in the Celiacs community, we’re pleased to announce gluten-free options at Hobee’s. Our special menu was introduced in May and June. We rolled it out in stages to ensure that our staff was properly trained on preparing and describing our gluten-free offerings. (We even hosted Free Gluten-Free nights to give everyone practice.)

The Gluten-Free Menu will no doubt evolve over time. Here is our starting line up:

Breakfast

Eye Opener
2 eggs (any style), country-style hashbrowns and your choice of corn tortillas or Udi’s gluten-free toast $7.95
Add turkey bacon, ham, or chicken apple sausage . . . . . . . $ 9.95

Gluten-Free Pancakes
Made with Gluten-free Pantry brown rice pancake mix and served with real maple syrup
Plain $8.25 with seasonal fruit $10.50

Lunch / Dinner

Pollo Supremo Tacos
Corn tortillas with chicken breast, mushrooms. Jack and Cheddar, brown rice pilaf topped with salsa, guac and sour cream.
Served with tri-color tortilla chips . . . . . $10.95
Redwood Burger
1/3 lb. Ground chuck patty, chicken breast, turkey patty or grilled Portobello mushroom with 2 slices of turkey
bacon and cheddar cheese on Udi’s Gluten-free bread. Served with tri-color tortilla chips . . . . . $10.95
Embarcadero Salad
An entrée salad with spring mix, grilled breast of chicken strips, pears, apples, walnuts, dried fruit and
Bleu cheese in a raspberry vinaigrette . . . $11.95
Gluten-Free Pasta
Hartland Gluten-free fusilli pasta (prepared in separate water than other pastas) available with
Marinara . . . . $ 12.95 Wild Wild (mushrooms, garlic, green onion) . . . $12.95
Pasta Pesto . . . $12.95 Salmon (mushrooms, spinach, capers, tomato) . . . $13.95

Just for Kids

Gluten-Free Mickey’s Pancake
Kid-sized pancake made with Gluten-free Pantry brown rice pancake mix . . . $4.95
Kid-sized Eye Opener
1 egg (any style), country-style hashbrowns and your choice of corn tortillas or Udi’s gluten-free toast $5.95
Add turkey bacon or chicken apple sausage . . . . . . . $ 6.95
Kid-sized Gluten-Free Pasta
Hartland Gluten-free fusilli pasta (prepared in separate water than other pastas) with Marinara . . . $5.95

In addition, we offer several gluten-friendly items which are gluten-friendly but have been prepared along side other items in the kitchen. These items include vegetable soups (other than veggie pasta), salad dressings and turkey burgers.

20th Annual Achievement Awards Honor Hobee’s Superstars

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Because we were so swamped this winter (see the Hobee’s Stanford closing story below), we decided to forgo our usual big awards event. That did not mean, however, that we skipped the opportunity to recognize our superstar employees. We simply took the show on the road and personally congratulated nearly every winner and runner up in over a dozen categories. This was a fun, personal way to commend each employee for a job well done. Please join us in congratulating the following winners for 2012:

Outstanding Host – (tie) Moises Hernandez (Sunnyvale) and Esperanza Juarez (Pruneyard)
Outstanding Manager – Ruben Alba (Sunnyvale)
Rookie of the Year – Mario Morales (Montague)
Outstanding Kitchen Crewmember – Jose Uriostegui (Sunnyvale)
Customers’ Choice Award – Elena Perez (Sunnyvale)
Supportive Organization Award – Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto
Hobee’s Hero – Tina Favaloro (Pruneyard)
Highest Annual Sales Awards – Montague (2 Periods) and Pruneyard (3 Periods)
Secret Shopper Award – (tie) Mountain View and Redwood Shores
Outstanding Server – Rafael Virrueta (Stanford)
Outstanding General Manager – Felipe Zarate (Pruneyard)
Paul Taber Commitment to Excellence Award – Jose Luis Salto (Palo Alto)
Outstanding Kitchen Manager – Roque Marin (Sunnyvale)
Customer Hall of Fame – Chrystal Bougon (Los Gatos); Janet & Georges Carpentier (Pruneyard);
and Ed Hudson (Montague Expressway)

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists!
FelipeAA13

 

Felipe Zarate from Hobee’s Pruneyard won his fourth Outstanding GM title.