Two local showmen are buying Akron’s iconic, 88-year-old Bob’s Hamburg.

They plan to continue the legacy, while putting their own stamp on the small, no-frills, breakfast-and-burger place that touts itself as the oldest restaurant in town.

The new owners are Josh Sines, Republican candidate for mayor of Akron and weekend ring announcer for mixed martial arts and wrestling matches, and Jeremy Caudill, promoter of local pro wresting and mixed martial arts events.

Last fall, Caudill operated the Akron Fright Fest, the area's first R-rated haunted house that drew national attention for its actors' outrage-provoking antics.

“I’m super excited,” said Sines, 43, who has worked at Rockne’s in Akron’s West Hill neighborhood for the last 16 years as a bartender and manager.

“Everybody who talks to me says, 'Oh, my gosh. You’re the luckiest guy ever,' " he said.

Aimee Buckeye has owned Bob's with her husband, Dan, since 2011. She quietly began looking for a buyer last year as she was pursuing a nursing degree. She will graduate in June.

She didn’t put a sign out in front of the building, but she listed the property with a commercial real estate agency. Bob's is at 1351 East Ave., near Interstate 76 and 77, in Akron's Sherbondy Hill neighborhood.

Last October, Buckeye told the Beacon Journal that she wasn’t diligently looking for a buyer, but “if the right person was willing to put the time and effort into it, I would sell it."

On Wednesday, Sines said he’d read of the property being for sale last year. Last month, he saw on a social media the sale price had dropped from $145,000 to $110,000, prompting him and Caudill to contact Buckeye. Sines, who will oversee Bob's on a daily basis, and Caudill will take over operations April 15.

Buckeye could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

When she and her husband became owners eight years ago, they were careful not to gussy up the interior too much — keeping the authentic retro feel.

She replaced the scuffed linoleum floor with fresh black-and-white checkerboard vinyl, and she hung red-and-white gingham curtains.

But the booths, stools and other fixtures are the same as when she arrived.

The place is so small, every seat in the house gives the diner a view of the grill. It’s in use from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Sines said Wednesday that he and Caudill aren’t planning to "mess with the down-home atmosphere" and they plan to keep the vintage vibe.

“We are not going commercial and using processed foods,” he said.

He and Caudill have been friends since their college days at the University of Akron.

They are planning to add new items to the menu, including sauerkaut balls, an Akron favorite. Sliders are likely to join the menu. A jukebox probably will be installed. Norka soda — the iconic brand that Michael Considine revived in 2015 — will soon be served.

The place is named for Bob Holbrook, who started the restaurant in 1931. Walter Ridge bought the place later in the 1930s, owning it until 1981. He was Bob's longest owner.

For the record, Dontino's Italian restaurant in Akron's North Hill dates to 1930, a year earlier than Bob's. But Dontino's began as another Italian restaurant and didn't get the Dontino's name until the 1970s.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.