The Burger Pit dynasty comes to a close
Bay Area's first restaurant opened in 1953; last one on Blossom Hill Road called it quits this week after having its rent raised
When the Burger Pit opened for lunch at noon recently, 29 customers were queued up in the line that snaked from the register to the front door. Less than an hour later, 25 more eager eaters had arrived at this restaurant that has been a fixture on San Jose's Blossom Hill Road since 1964. And then more.
“It's been this way for two months,” said the aptly named owner, Paul Berger, who arrived at 8 a.m. and wouldn't get a chance to sit for even a few minutes until 3 p.m. He'd actually given his devoted clientele a year's worth of notice that his lease would be up in April 2024. Many hoped it wouldn't come to this conclusion, but Tuesday was the last day for the last remaining location.
When the last Steerburger left the grill that night, the South Bay-based Burger Pit chain — which at various times boasted restaurants in Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Milpitas, Fremont and south to Santa Cruz, Capitola and Salinas — concluded its run.
With his lease up and the landlord raising the rent by nearly 70%, Berger said “there's no way” to continue. The pandemic was rough on the restaurant, and he still needs to repay some loans.
“After 71 years, it will be done,” he added ruefully. “It's time.”
His father, Oakland native Albert Berger, and a few business partners launched the business in 1953 as the Burger Bar. That walk-up stand at First and Keyes streets in downtown San Jose famously sold a bag of 10 burgers for a buck — an appealing deal for hungry students at then-san Jose State College. The first location to be called a Burger Pit opened in Cupertino in 1956.
“We were before Mcdonald's and everybody,” Berger said, noting that his father, an ice cream salesman for Swift & Co., met Ray Kroc when the Mcdonald's founder was selling ice cream mixers.
“(Kroc) and I had the same idea,” the senior Berger told the Mercury News in a 1991 interview, “but he had more brains than I did. More brains, more money and more backing.”
What Berger did have was a motto that he instilled in his staff and family: “Good food at reasonable prices.” After his retirement in 1986 and death in 1998, son Paul, who became a manager after studies at Santa Clara University and a stint in the military, took over the business and maintained that philosophy. Today, Burger Pit's half-pound Steerburger — with tomato, onions, pickles, leafy lettuce and condiments — goes for $9.99, only a few bucks more than the much smaller Quarter Pounder.
That affordability is prized, especially in these inflationary times.
“The food's great, and the price is right,” said Howard Shirley, a neighborhood resident who has eaten here for decades with fellow retiree Doug Carman, from the Berryessa area. They waited in line recently for Shirley's current favorite, flat-iron steak with baked potato and garlic bread ($17.99; the lunch steak is just $11.59 and the ribeye steak sandwich $12.59) and Carman's go-to burger (“I haven't found any better. Quality meat”).
During these final weeks, Berger, 75, wasn't just selling lots of burgers and steaks. The restaurant goes through 10 gallons of the mild beefand-bean chili every day. That's one of the recipes customers have been requesting from Berger — to no avail.
“The chili recipe is going in my casket with me,” he said. However, he offered one hint for home cooks: He adds an “unconventional ingredient” that he said thickens the mixture but doesn't change the color. (And no, it isn't flour or cornstarch.)
Diners have been clamoring for the blue cheese salad dressing recipe, too. “The blue cheese has teriyaki glaze and horseradish in it. I think that's what gives it its zip,” he divulged. (And yes, he said that on the record.)
Customers also have been buying memorabilia off the walls and shelves. A huge shipment of commemorative coffee mugs sold quickly. Berger's keeping most of what remains, including the black-and-white snapshots of Burger Pits through the years and a large collage of newspaper ads they ran in the San Jose Mercury and San Jose News back in the day.
The morning after the restaurant closes, Berger planned to start selling the kitchen equipment, restaurant fixtures and any remaining food and keepsakes. He hoped San Jose's preservationists would be interested in his donation of the iconic Burger Pit sign, with its steer-head initial B and its neon tubes currently protected by plastic.
Besides the nostalgic “time machine” feel of this place and its comfort food, customers say they will miss the conviviality most of all.
Shirley and Carman made this pilgrimage not just for lunch but to say goodbye to the Pit's employees and thank them for their service. Manager Jody Millermon will be retiring after 29 years with the company. Other longtimers include dining room staffer Jose Zamora and cooks Rob Wilson and George Yang.
Karen Boettcher has been eating here since she was young enough to draw pictures with the crayons that Burger Pit always provided to keep young customers occupied. “It's like an old friend is leaving us,” she said.
Other regulars making final visits included a group of about 40 retired Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies, who have met up here on the third Thursday of every month for nearly two decades; a Corvette club that counts Berger among its members; and students and alumni from Pioneer High School just down the street.
“Sad” summed up nearby resident Connie Engh's feelings. She and her husband have dined here since the 1970s. “The staff is fantastic, so kind,” she said.
“It's been our home away from home. I'm going to miss it a lot.”
Former Mercury News staffers Mike Cassidy and Mack Lundstrom contributed to this report.