When you call famed Pasadena diner Pie 'N Burger, owner Michael Osborn answers the phone. "I've been here pretty much in the front of the house for over 42 years," he says.
Founded in 1963, Pie 'N Burger is a tiny spot — five tables, 25 counter seats and an open kitchen — on East California Boulevard. Osborn began working for the restaurant in 1972, when he was a pre-dental major at the University of Southern California. "I knew I didn't want to be a dentist," he says. "Beyond that, I didn't know what I wanted to do." The answer, he discovered, was running Pie 'N Burger. Over the years, he gradually took over the business from its original owners and eventually purchased it outright.
The restaurant has thrived since then. Instead of remaining just a quaint local institution, Pie 'N Burger has become nationally known through an appearance on The Travel Channel’s "Burger Land." It's Zagat-rated and consistently wins awards for its food.
(Photo Credit: Pie 'N Burger- For 35 years, Pie 'N Burger's burgers have been made using an old family recipe and prime, freshly ground beef from the same small butcher shop.)
Osborn shares his secrets to keeping a restaurant thriving for 50-plus years.
1. Don't change what works. You can guess what Pie 'N Burger is known for. The restaurant serves classic American burgers, made with recipes that pre-date its founding by 25 or 30 years. "It's not trendy. It doesn't go out of style," Osborn says. The pies, too, are made by hand — crust and all — from recipes that are 75 years old.
2. Never skimp on quality. "It starts with the quality, and I've never varied that," Osborn says. Pie 'N Burger's founders taught him "to buy the best ingredients you can buy," and that's what he's done ever since. For 35 years, he has used only prime, freshly ground beef from the same small butcher shop. He makes his Thousand Island dressing with Kraft extra-heavy mayonnaise, and his pie dough with C&H cane sugar and Gold Medal flour.
3. The best ingredients aren't always local. While many restaurants embrace ultra-local produce and meats, that means they must change their menu to adapt to the seasons. "It becomes a little harder for us to do that," Osborn says. He seeks out the highest-quality ingredients for his pies, no matter where they come from. Favorites include fresh Michigan cherries and Maine blueberries, which he says have more flavor than the overstuffed California varieties.
4. Focus on future customers. Osborn remembers visiting a fancy restaurant in his youth with tuxedoed waiter captains —"very Pasadena," he says. But the clientele was entirely gray-haired, and not long afterward, the restaurant closed. "In order to be successful, you have to appeal to the next generation. And then the next generation," Osborn says, He did that by adding a fun kids' menu to Pie 'N Burger, with animal-shaped pancakes and a foot-long Dodger Dog. That brought in children, along with their parents.
5. Keep your staff. Pie 'N Burger's pie baker has been there for 43 years. Two servers have been there for more than 40; another waitress retired in November 2013 after 50 years. The average tenure of staff is 15 years. (The average turnover rate in the hospitality business overall approaches 30 percent.) How does Osborn do it? He's pretty easygoing, he says, and he lets staff make their own decisions about things like scheduling. "I don't have to micromanage. You hire someone as an adult, you treat them as an adult." He trusts them to handle workplace crises on their own: "I have a rule that there's no wrong decision if you went about it in the right way." One result, he says, is that when an employee turns out to be a poor fit, the veteran staff will help to weed that person out.
6. Invest in durable equipment. "We've never replaced our pie oven. We've never replaced our range," Osborn says. And for making malts, he still uses the enameled Hamilton Beach Commercial triple-spindle drink mixer that's original to the restaurant. He likes it so much, in fact, that he added two more -- one found at an antiques store, the other at a swap meet. "The parts from the newer ones are still pretty interchangeable with the old ones," he notes. The mixers even go on the road when Pie 'N Burger caters events.
7. Never stop trying. Running a restaurant is not an easy business, Osborn says. "It takes its toll." But the moment an owner distances himself, or starts compromising on quality, the trust of customers and employees is lost. His philosophy is this: "If someone's going to walk in the door, you owe them your best effort."
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