We wish we had some photos of Los Altos High School students eating their burgers at Kirk's after dances -- standing in the rustic building in their fancy clothes, just chowing down after a night of rock n' roll and slow-dancing in the LAHS gym. 

AFTER WORLD WAR II, Bill Sincere and his wife, “Kirk” relocated to California from New York. Bill had spent most of his life in retail, but wanted to try something new while enjoying the California climate. He considered sales but kept thinking about how restaurants in New York prepared burgers and hot dogs. They cooked them one at a time over charcoal, let customers add their own toppings, and served them with potato chips and great milkshakes. The basic idea was good meat served without fanfare. The only problem was that during severe New York weather, many businesses closed for several months. Maybe in California.

Bill searched everywhere in California, but couldn’t find anyone doing burgers this way. Just as he was about to give up and take a sales job at Macy’s, his mother gave him a small loan and encouraged his entrepreneurship. The rest is history. Bill rented land on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, built a small building, found a butcher who would grind his steak, and opened the first Kirk’s Steakburgers in 1948.

Word quickly got out about Kirk’s Steakburgers. First came the Stanford students, then the developers, and then the early electronic wizards (Noyce, Moore, Hewlett, Packard, Varian brothers, Watkins and Johnson, etc.). Everyone wanted a Kirk’s Steakburger. Long lines snaked along El Camino, turnover was fast, and everyone enjoyed chatting with Bill as he flipped burgers better than anyone around.

Today Kirk’s has four locations, has expanded the menu to include their signature French fries, garlic onions strings, and over 20 specialty steakburgers. And they still use the same butcher to prepare the now famous Kirk’s Steakburgers. And if that’s not enough tradition, there have been several second and third generation employees, which makes sense, since Kirk’s has many second and third generation customers. Do you remember your first Kirk’s Steakburger?

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