For over four decades, Erin Burke has been a familiar face to customers at the Millbrae Pancake House. At age 10, she started working as a cashier at her family’s humble diner, earning a dollar an hour from her aunts Frankie and Marie Mulcrevy. 

Burke continued as a cashier and a host during high school, and she later waitressed and bartended while pursuing her teaching credential. In 2009, as she pivoted from teaching fourth grade, Burke returned to the pancake palace — this time as part of the second generation of the Mulcrevys to own an institution 10 minutes from San Francisco International Airport that sees droves of locals, celebrities and influencers. 

“My Aunt Marie used to say, ‘Don’t change anything. People don’t like change,’” she recalled of the words imparted by her father Robert’s sister. “That sticks in my head.”

Article continues below this ad

Indeed, since its founding in 1959, the restaurant has largely stayed the same, from its upholstered vinyl booths and wood-paneled walls to the recipes for its bestselling Swedish and buttermilk pancakes. “It’s like stepping back into an old-school vibe,” Burke said.

Cook Francisco Esparza, left, who works with his brother Jose Esparza, right, poses with co-owner Erin Burke in the kitchen of the Millbrae Pancake House in Millbrae, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2026.

Swedish pancakes topped with lingonberry butter at the Millbrae Pancake House in Millbrae, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2026.

Server Russell Camunias takes an order at the Millbrae Pancake House in Millbrae, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2026.

According to the Millbrae Historical Society, Mulcrevy sisters Frankie, Marie and Anne, along with Anne’s husband, Jack Holder, established the eatery 67 years ago as an Uncle John’s Pancake House franchise. (Holder had opened other restaurants in Oregon before moving to the Bay Area and launching several Uncle John’s Pancake House locations.)

Article continues below this ad

Don't let Google decide who you trust.

In the early days, an order of Swedish pancakes, served with the signature lingonberry butter, was 90 cents. Coffee was a dime. When I visited last month, it was still a solid value: For less than $20, I got two eggs, two Swedish pancakes, a generous portion of hash browns and unlimited coffee.

Millbrae was the sole Uncle John’s outpost owned by the Mulcrevy family. In the 1960s, it was renamed the Millbrae Pancake House, and Frankie and Marie took the reins. (They died in 2002 and 2011, respectively.)

In 2009, the torch was passed to another generation of Mulcrevy women: Burke and her three sisters. Only Burke remains involved in the day-to-day operations. Reflecting on the restaurant’s longevity, she described its “magic formula” as rooted in “value, consistency and customer service.........

© SFGate