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San Jose Mercury News (California)
January 10, 2013 Thursday
Origins of Caspers Hot Dogs: A tale of immigration and success out west
By Robert Rogers Contra Costa Times
Tracing the history of one of the Bay Area's most enduring eateries is not easy.
"Nobody kept books or coherent records," said Ron Dorian, grandson of
an original partner in Caspers Hot Dogs. "A lot of my knowledge of
company history was passed on from conversations with older relatives
and not from anything in writing."
Dorian, 54, is the grandson of Steve Beklian, one of the five men who
established Caspers Hot Dogs in the East Bay between the 1920s and the
1940s.
It started in the 1920s, when Kasper Koojoolian, an Armenian
immigrant, decided to flee Chicago for the warmer climate and business
opportunities of California.
Dorian said the first store was in Oakland, and it was called "Kaspers."
Kaspers' success soon drew friends and family, including cousins like
Steve Beklian, business savvy restaurateur Paul Agajan, Hagop Beklian
and brother Paul Koojoolian.
"Agajan operated two cafeterias in Cicero before moving to California.
You had to be tough to operate businesses like that in Chicago in the
1930s," Dorian said.
New stores popped up in Oakland and surrounding suburbs, including the
Richmond store in 1947.
As often happens in business startups, the family relationships were
strained by the growing enterprise. Kasper and his brother Paul
Koojoolian broke away and retained his "Kaspers" name, while the other
partners branched out and expanded their "Caspers" brand, Dorian said.
Paul's son, Harold Koojoolian, still operates the Kaspers in Oakland.
Tragically, Kasper Koojoolian died in 1943 while en route to Fresno,
where he was looking for a ranch to buy. He always wanted to leave the
city and retire as a rancher, Dorian said.
Today, there are eight Caspers with 12 owners, including Dorian, all
descendants of the original five.
But it all started with a dream and impossible odds.
"The Koojoolian brothers and Beklian brothers emigrated as young boys
-- all together with no adults -- fleeing Turkey with money their
parents gave them," Dorian said. "The parents couldn't leave -- and
they knew their children would be killed if they stayed. The five of
them made it from their village in Turkey to France and sailed to
Philadelphia and crossed to Chicago at a time in their lives that kids
today would still be in school. Their closeness cannot be
underestimated."
January 10, 2013 Thursday
Origins of Caspers Hot Dogs: A tale of immigration and success out west
By Robert Rogers Contra Costa Times
Tracing the history of one of the Bay Area's most enduring eateries is not easy.
"Nobody kept books or coherent records," said Ron Dorian, grandson of
an original partner in Caspers Hot Dogs. "A lot of my knowledge of
company history was passed on from conversations with older relatives
and not from anything in writing."
Dorian, 54, is the grandson of Steve Beklian, one of the five men who
established Caspers Hot Dogs in the East Bay between the 1920s and the
1940s.
It started in the 1920s, when Kasper Koojoolian, an Armenian
immigrant, decided to flee Chicago for the warmer climate and business
opportunities of California.
Dorian said the first store was in Oakland, and it was called "Kaspers."
Kaspers' success soon drew friends and family, including cousins like
Steve Beklian, business savvy restaurateur Paul Agajan, Hagop Beklian
and brother Paul Koojoolian.
"Agajan operated two cafeterias in Cicero before moving to California.
You had to be tough to operate businesses like that in Chicago in the
1930s," Dorian said.
New stores popped up in Oakland and surrounding suburbs, including the
Richmond store in 1947.
As often happens in business startups, the family relationships were
strained by the growing enterprise. Kasper and his brother Paul
Koojoolian broke away and retained his "Kaspers" name, while the other
partners branched out and expanded their "Caspers" brand, Dorian said.
Paul's son, Harold Koojoolian, still operates the Kaspers in Oakland.
Tragically, Kasper Koojoolian died in 1943 while en route to Fresno,
where he was looking for a ranch to buy. He always wanted to leave the
city and retire as a rancher, Dorian said.
Today, there are eight Caspers with 12 owners, including Dorian, all
descendants of the original five.
But it all started with a dream and impossible odds.
"The Koojoolian brothers and Beklian brothers emigrated as young boys
-- all together with no adults -- fleeing Turkey with money their
parents gave them," Dorian said. "The parents couldn't leave -- and
they knew their children would be killed if they stayed. The five of
them made it from their village in Turkey to France and sailed to
Philadelphia and crossed to Chicago at a time in their lives that kids
today would still be in school. Their closeness cannot be
underestimated."