Located in downtown Palo Alto off University Ave., Palo Alto Creamery keeps customers coming back for its comforting food and warm, friendly atmosphere. It’s the perfect place for friends and family to get together. Now, more than 100 years after it first opened, Palo Alto Creamery is owned and run by Rob Fischer.
Palo Alto Creamery serves classic American diner food. Everything is homemade, from the hamburger buns to the pie crusts. Every morning, Fischer’s sister, who works alongside him, picks up fresh fruit and vegetables straight from the produce market for them to serve, ensuring the best quality.
The all-day breakfast is especially well known, offering a wide variety of pancakes, waffles, French toast, and eggs. The early bird special, which is two pancakes, an egg, and two pieces of bacon, is the creamery’s secret menu item, discounted before 10 a.m. One of the most expensive items is the Bubbly Burger at $475; it comes with a hamburger of your choice and a bottle of Dom Pérignon.
“This restaurant is the melting pot of Palo Alto,” Fischer said. “What makes this place special is that everyone’s welcome. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re welcome.”
Fischer built Palo Alto Creamery from practically nothing. 38 years ago, he purchased a run-down diner after learning it was for sale. “This was my first restaurant that I ever owned. I didn’t have any money when I bought the restaurant, and I used every dime I had to buy it,” he said. Fischer grew up in Connecticut, where at the time diners were everywhere in New England. His grandfather opened a diner, so growing up, he was always connected to the restaurant business.
Fast forward to now, and Fischer is opening his fifth restaurant. Aside from Palo Alto Creamery, Fischer also owns Reposado, Scratch, and British Bankers Club. A second Reposado is opening in January, in San Mateo.
The creamery’s interior has a distinctly old-fashioned, diner-style feel. The booths, stools, and menus all feel nostalgic, as if none of its decor has changed since 1987. One of these items includes a fully functioning, updated jukebox. Additionally, hidden inside the diner’s iconic clock are the words, “Eat and get out,” with “just kidding” written below in smaller letters.
The signs and posters hung on the walls tell their own story. The painter who worked on many of the signs, including Fischer’s personal favorite, the “homemade pies” sign, used to make signs for Coca Cola. And Warren Goodrich, the former artist of the San Francisco Chronicle’s pink movie review section, created the creamery’s iconic cow posters. “People come in here all the time and they want to buy them,” Fischer said.
Palo Alto Creamery is open every day, all year round. “I open all my restaurants on all the holidays because I want everybody to have a place to go,” Fischer said. “I am very proud [that] we’re open every day of the year.”
Their most popular day is the day before Thanksgiving. “This year we sold 1,000 pies. It’s nutty, it’s crazy. It’s my favorite day of the year here because I get to see everyone I might not have seen all year,” Fischer said.
“We try to keep it light and have fun in here, that’s what it’s all about. You know, there’s a saying that if you love what you do, you never work another day,” Fischer said.
