// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Casper's go to therapy? It had ghost issues.
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast food |
| Founded | 1934 in Oakland, California |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | Lafayette, California[1] |
Number of locations | 5 (2026)[2] |
Area served | |
Key people |
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| Owner |
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| Website | caspershotdogs |
Caspers Famous Hot Dogs is a San Francisco Bay Area-based chain of hot dog restaurants established in 1934. Caspers’ hot dogs are reminiscent of Chicago-style hot dogs, in that they are dressed with sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, mustard, and relish.[3] This reflects the founders’ experience selling hot dogs in Chicago.[4]
Caspers operates 5 locations in the East Bay: Dublin, Hayward, Oakland, Pleasant Hill, and Richmond.[2]
History
[edit]The origin of Caspers Hot Dogs can be traced back Kasper Koojoolian, who first started selling hot dogs in Chicago in the 1920s after fleeing the Armenian genocide.[4] He then moved to Oakland because of its warmer climate and in 1930 opened a hot dog restaurant called Kasper’s Hot Dogs.[4] The success of his restaurant drew his friends and family from Chicago, including his brother Paul Koojoolian, and his cousins Steve Beklian and Paul Agajan. Together, they opened more locations of Kasper’s.[4][5] Beklian and Agajan opened their first location of Kasper’s in 1934.[6]
As the chain expanded, different family members had different ideas on how to expand. Beklian and Agajan split off in 1939 and named their restaurants Caspers Hot Dogs.[7] Meanwhile, Kasper’s Hot Dogs continued to operate until its last location closed in 2025.[8] Separately, Kasper Koojoolian’s son-in-law Harry Yaglijian gained ownership of a Kasper’s location in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, which was dubbed Original Kasper’s Hot Dogs and operated until 2003.[9] The separation has been characterized as both hostile[7] and amicable.[4]
When Beklian and Agajan eventually passed away, their wives Ardam and Rose took over, and other family members eventually got involved in the business.[10] The current owners, Ron Dorian and Paul Rustigian, are the company’s third-generation family owners.[4]
In 1989, the owners of Caspers Hot Dogs started its own sausage manufactory called SPAR Sausage Company, now in San Leandro, California.[11] The name is derived from the first names of the founders of Caspers.[11] Several years later, Kasper’s Hot Dogs also started producing its own sausages, prompting a lawsuit from Caspers in 1998.[7] SPAR Sausage Company eventually produced sausages for Kasper’s Hot Dogs as well, albeit with a different recipe from Caspers.[4]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Contact Info". Caspers Famous Hot Dogs. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- 1 2 "Locations". Caspers Famous Hot Dogs. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Menu". Caspers Famous Hot Dogs. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Guerrero, Susana (January 6, 2023). "'It's a great American story': Bay Area's Caspers Hot Dogs is a bite of old-school nostalgia". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ↑ Rogers, Robert (January 10, 2013). "Origins of Caspers Hot Dogs: A tale of immigration and success out west". Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ↑ Cortez, Mario (March 1, 2023). "Classic East Bay hot dog shop closes after 40 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Johnson, Chip (March 12, 1998). "Dog-Eat-Dog World of Fast Food: Casper's sues Kasper's — it's all in the family". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ↑ Wells, Madeline (October 23, 2025). "95-year-old Bay Area hot dog chain has closed its final restaurant". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ↑ Nye, Risa (January 27, 2026). "Hot dog days return to iconic, triangular Temescal building". The Oaklandside. Oakland, California. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ↑ Guerrero, Susana (June 25, 2024). "Historic Bay Area chain Caspers Hot Dog to close 75-year-old storefront". SFGate. Hearst Communications. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
- 1 2 "About Us". SPAR Sausage Company. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
External links
[edit]
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