A beloved food joint now makes an unexpected closure after 70 years in business, and customers are mourning the loss of its last location.
The Burger Pit in San Jose, California, has been an iconic part of the city since the 1950s, reports The-Sun.
However, the last location of the chain closed its doors for good on Tuesday as loyal fans formed lines around the building to get their last burger.
The closure of the burger joint was announced last year by co-owner Paul Berger whose late father Al set up the business with three partners in 1953.
What started as a drive-in soon became three burger restaurants with the first opening in 1956.
This was followed by 26 branches throughout the Bay Area.
Berger, has worked at the restaurant for over 50 years and has said that he will miss one thing.
“Well, I’m 75, and it’s time for me to retire, but I’m going to miss all of these people,” he told Fox News affiliate KTVU.
Speaking of his father’s legacy, Berger said “he would be very proud, especially when he sees this line around the building.”
“We were before McDonald’s, before Burger King, everybody,” he told San Jose Spotlight last year.
“And (my father and his three partners) made quite a success out of it. Ten burgers for a dollar.”
However, money has also been part of its downfall as the cost of rent forced the popular restaurant to close alongside Berger’s retirement.
“We found out he [landlord] wanted $21,000 a month to rent, which was an enormous increase over what I was paying,” he told KNTV.
There were also issues with the lease that also contributed to the closure with the building being out of compliance with city building codes.
However, despite the sadness of closing, it is the actions of locals and fans of the eatery that will remain with Berger and his crew.
The joint ran out of supplies hours before their closing time with people even wanting to buy mementos of the restaurant such as pictures from its walls.
“It’s just amazing to me how many people come in here and eat every day or every other day, and eat the same thing every day,” Berger told San José Spotlight.
“I appreciate all the years and the nice things people have said.”
“Everyone wants to buy a piece of this place. Half the pictures are gone…people want to buy anything that was at The Burger Pit.
I’m seeing Burger Pit T-shirts and coffee mugs (and) we ran out. We sold 288 of them in 10 days.”
Restaurant manager Jody Millermon who has worked there for three decades agrees with Berger saying that she will most miss the customers she has met at the restaurant.
“A lot of our customers aren’t customers, they’re family,” she told KNTV.
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Also Read: A Massive Grocery Chain With 400 Stores Is Now Closing
Other Economy News Today
A massive shoe retailer now announces a new wave of layoffs to hit headquarters this summer, affecting over 700 employees.
Nike has announced its ‘second phase’ of mass layoffs, effective June 28, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing.
A total of 740 employees will be impacted in the retailer’s home state.
The layoffs are part of the 2% workforce reduction Nike announced in February, which is taking place across two phases, the company confirmed via email.
Nike said job titles and the number of employees in each category would be provided at a later date, once the company has determined them.
Bumping rights are not available for the impacted employees, reports Retail Dive.
“Nike’s always at our best when we’re on the offense. The actions that we’re taking put us in the position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities as interest in sport, health and wellness have never been stronger,” Nike said in a statement.
“While these changes will impact approximately 2% of our total workforce, we are grateful for the contributions made by all Nike teammates.”
The layoffs are tied to a cost-savings plan Nike unveiled in December, which is aimed at generating up to $2 billion in cumulative savings over three years.
Based on the company’s last annual report, the layoffs to 2% of its total workforce will impact more than 1,600 people.
Savings from the plan are set to be reinvested in driving growth, innovation and profitability.
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Also Read: A Massive Grocery Brand Now Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
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