A new name, but the hot dog remains the same

It’s been almost three weeks since the historic Caspers Hot Dogs at 2530 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond reopened as Corky’s Famous Hot Dogs, and according to its new owner, Courtland “Corky” Boozé, the location is as busy as ever. 

“We have people here at 9 o’clock [in the morning] waiting to get hot dogs and chili,” he said. 

Boozé, a longtime Caspers customer and former Richmond city council member, purchased the restaurant from owners Ron Dorian and Paul Rustigan after they approached him directly. “Corky has been a customer and a friend for many, many years and he would always just casually say that he was interested in taking it over,” Dorian said. 

Founded in Oakland in the early 1930s by Armenian immigrants Steve Beklian and Paul Agajan, Caspers Hot Dogs became an East Bay institution, known for its fresh, steamed hot dogs and old-school counter service. Today, there are locations in Pleasant Hill, Hayward, Oakland and Dublin. The Richmond outpost, which opened in 1947, was, until recently, the oldest remaining Caspers in the region. 

“They’ve got a family-franchise business,” Boozé said. “All of them seemed like they were doing fine. That’s one of the reasons I couldn’t understand why they were getting rid of it.” 

Boozé bought the Richmond restaurant with his ex-wife, Gwen Boozé, a longtime co-owner of the former West Oakland soul food restaurant The Barn, and his son Kevin Boozé, who owns an automotive repair shop in Pinole.

According to Dorian, the decision to sell had nothing to do with finances. “It was profitable,” he said. “Corky probably wouldn’t have wanted it if it wasn’t.” Instead, the family was simply ready to take a step back. “We’re all getting old. We have nobody in the new generations that want to take it over,” Dorian said. “We’re all just tired.” 

Dorian and Rustigan say they have no plans as of now to sell their other four remaining East Bay locations in Oakland, Dublin, Hayward and Pleasant Hill. In Richmond, though, they have faith that their legacy is in good hands. 

“If Corky wasn’t interested we probably would still be operating in Richmond,” Dorian said. 

For Boozé, taking over the restaurant felt like a long time coming. “I’ve always wanted to own it,” he said. “I just never thought they’d sell.” 

Boozé had been coming to Caspers for 25 years. After losing nine consecutive campaigns for Richmond City Council, he won on his tenth attempt and served from 2010 to 2014. During those years, he skipped his office at City Hall – located directly across the street – and instead held informal meetings at Caspers. “All the seniors and everybody used to come here and sit at this table with me and tell me their problems,” Boozé said. “Everybody knew Caspers was City Hall South.”

Boozé sees his purchase of the restaurant as a continuation of that public service. “People would say, ‘Why would you want to do that?’” Boozé said. “Because I want a better place for the people of the city of Richmond.”

Aside from the name, he plans to keep everything the same. “Nothing has changed here, and everybody needs to know that,” Boozé said. “Same meat, same produce, same buns. Even the same employees.” 

That much appears true. The cheese is still being grated by hand, the chili is made in-house, and the hot dogs are supplied by SPAR, the San Leandro-based sausage company owned and operated by the Casper family. Employee Dana Chase has been with the restaurant for 25 years. The manager, Eric Strong, has been there for twenty. “We’ve got a family here,” Boozé said. “This is not a job. This is a family affair. We try to keep it that way.”

One regular, an employee at Ashby Lumber in Berkeley, comes in every two weeks. After he orders his cheese dog, Dana sits down with him at the counter. “So how’ve you been?” she asks. There’s also a church group that comes in every Thursday night and enjoys their hot dogs until closing. One family recently drove all the way from Redding just to eat there, according to Boozé. 

“What’s really successful is the customers have stayed with us,” he said. “And the thing that makes my heart flutter is that every person that comes in here says, ‘Thank you for keeping this open.’ I’ve never been in a business where I get that kind of thank you.” 

Boozé is at the restaurant every day, chatting with regulars and planning small improvements. A new sign taped to the menu board reads “Try Corky’s ¼ lb All Beef Hot Dog” – his favorite iteration. But the most popular item is still the Casper Dog, the traditional family recipe topped with tomatoes, onions, mustard and relish. 

In the future, Boozé hopes to add soft-serve ice cream to the menu and to resurrect an alleged fan favorite – tamales. He’s also researching whether a veggie dog could survive the steaming process.  

In addition to improving the restaurant’s interior, Boozé plans to remain open on Sundays to serve the church-going community. He also wants to host a car show in the parking lot, a nod to his days as a champion drag racer.

In Corky’s Famous Hot Dogs, Boozé is happy to have preserved what generations of Richmond residents loved about Caspers. “I did not want this to close in my community,” he said. “And that’s the good part – letting people know that we care.”