When the Burger Pit opened for lunch earlier this week, 29 customers stood in a line that snaked from the register to the front door. Less than an hour later, 25 more eager eaters had descended on this restaurant that has been a fixture on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose since 1964. And then some.
“It’s been like this for two months,” said the aptly named owner, Paul Berger, who arrived at 8 a.m. and didn’t get a chance to sit down for even a few minutes until 3 p.m. hours. It had actually offered its devoted customer base a year’s notice that its lease would expire in April 2024. Many hoped it wouldn’t come to that conclusion, but Tuesday, April 23 is the last day for the last remaining location.
When the last Steerburger leaves the grill that evening, the South Bay-based Burger Pit chain — which at various times had restaurants in Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Milpitas, Fremont and south of Santa Cruz, Capitola, Salinas — will end his race. .
With his lease increased and the landlord increasing the rent by almost 70 percent, Berger said “there was no way” he could continue. The pandemic has put a strain on the restaurant and it still has to repay some loans.
“After 71 years, it will be done,” he added regretfully. “It’s time.”
His father, Oakland native Albert Berger, and a few business partners started the business in 1953 as Burger Bar. This walk-up stand at First and Keyes streets in downtown San Jose sold a bag of 10 hamburgers for a dollar — an enticing deal for hungry San Jose State College students of the time. The first place called Burger Pit opened in Cupertino in 1956.
“We were before McDonald’s and all that,” 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 me. More brains, more money and more backing .
What Berger did have was a motto he instilled in his staff and family: “Good food at reasonable prices.” After his retirement in 1986 and his death in 1998, his son Paul, who became director after Santa Clara University and a stint in the military, took over the business and maintained this philosophy. Today, Burger Pit’s half-pound Steerburger — with tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce leaves and condiments — costs $9.99, only a few dollars more than the much smaller Quarter Pounder.
This affordability is appreciated, especially in these times of inflation.
“The food is great and the price is right,” said Howard Shirley, a neighborhood resident who has eaten here for decades with fellow Berryessa-area retiree Doug Carman. They waited in line for Shirley’s current favorite, the Flat-Iron Steak with Baked Potatoes and Garlic Bread ($17.99; the Lunch Steak is just $11.59 and the Ribeye Steak Sandwich $12.59) and Carman’s must-have burger (“I haven’t found a better one. Quality meat”).
In recent weeks, Berger, 75, hasn’t just sold a lot of hamburgers and steaks. The restaurant goes through 10 gallons of sweet beef and bean chili every day. It’s one of the recipes customers ask Berger for – to no avail.
“The chili recipe is in my coffin with me,” he said. However, he did offer one tip for home cooks: he adds an “unconventional ingredient” that he says thickens the mixture but doesn’t change the color. (And no, it’s not flour or cornstarch.)
Diners are also asking for the blue cheese vinaigrette recipe. “Blue cheese has teriyaki frosting and horseradish. I think that’s what gives it its character,” he revealed. (And yes, he said that on the record.)
Customers also purchased souvenirs from the walls and shelves, and a huge quantity of commemorative coffee mugs sold out quickly. Berger keeps most of what remains, including black-and-white snapshots of Burger Pits over the years and a large collage of newspaper ads they ran in the San Jose Mercury and the San Jose News in the time.
The day after the restaurant closes, Berger will begin selling all of the restaurant’s kitchen equipment, accessories, and all leftover food and souvenirs. He hopes San Jose conservationists will be interested in his donation of the iconic Burger Pit sign, with its initial B in the shape of an ox’s head and its neon tubes currently protected by plastic.
Besides the nostalgic “time machine” atmosphere of this place and its comfort food, customers say they will miss the conviviality above all.
Shirley and Carman made this pilgrimage not only for lunch, but also to say goodbye to the Pit employees and thank them for their service. Director Jody Millermon will retire after 29 years with the company. Other longtime employees include dining room staff member Jose Zamora and cooks Rob Wilson and George Yang.
Karen Boettcher has been eating here since she was young enough to draw with the colored pencils that Burger Pit always provided to keep young customers occupied. “It’s like an old friend leaving us,” she says.
Other regulars making final visits include a group of about 40 retired Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies, who have been meeting here the third Thursday of each month for 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 the feelings of nearby resident Connie Engh. She and her husband had been dining here since the 1970s. “The staff is fantastic, very nice,” she said.
“It’s our home away from home. I will miss it very much. »
Details: For its last days, this last Burger Pit will be open during usual hours, from noon to 8 p.m. Mid-afternoon is the best time to try to avoid the very long lines. The after-close sale will begin at 9 a.m. on April 24 and will run daily until April 30. The restaurant is located at 1349 Blossom Hill Road, at Kooser Road; 408-269-8062. .
Biographical information reported by former Mercury News staffers Mike Cassidy and Mack Lundstrom contributed to this article.
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