Lai Lai Restaurant
Opened in 1983 by Jimmy Tzeng, Lai Lai Restaurant has been serving Millbrae for over four decades. At the time of opening, they were one of only three Chinese restaurants in Millbrae.
A lot has changed since opening, but the restaurant’s policy of hospitality has been the same since Day One, manager Gary Lin says. “If you go to other restaurants, you are just a number, just a guest, but at Lai Lai, we treat [you] like our own family member… [the] restaurant is hard work, but interacting with the… loyal customers, it’s fun, and it makes us feel valued.”
Lin says that nowadays, with the rise of delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and GrubHub, less people dine in at the restaurant. However, Lin is not concerned about losing customers. “I don’t think there will come a day where 100% of the order becomes delivered through digital platform. There will always be people who want to be engaged when they go out to eat. They wanna go there to interact with other people,” he explains.
Pape Meat Co.
Having been in business for almost seven decades, Pape Meat Co. is one of the oldest stores in Millbrae. Although they have continued to be family-owned, many things about the business changed as time passed by.
Founded in 1958 by brothers Ron and Bob Pape, the business initially started out as a counter in a grocery store. “The grocery store changed hands a few times, but we stayed there,” explains Larry Pape, co-owner of Pape Meat Co. “And eventually the last grocer went out of business, just walked away and left us all this space.” Since then, Pape Meats has become a well-known provider of quality meat and seafood, attracting customers from around the Bay Area.
One of Pape’s favorite parts of the business is the customers. “[I’ve] learned a lot from the customers, because we have a hands-on business where we chat a lot with our customers, and customers [come] from all over the Bay Area or even the world,” he says.
Leonardo’s Deli Cafe
Gary Barranti, owner of Leonardo’s Deli Cafe, describes the restaurant as “a time machine” because despite having been in business for almost four decades, the shop has not changed much since its opening in 1987. It has been run by the same family, with the same layout and focus on serving quality Italian sandwiches, soups, salads, and more.
“I love when people come in and say, ‘Oh, I grew up in Millbrae. We used to come here when I was in elementary school or whatever,’ and so they come back,” Barranti says. “It’s kind of like a walking down a memory lane type of thing, you know?”
The principle of family is central to the business, stemming from its roots in Italian culture. “When you come into the store, even if you’ve never been there before, the warmth, the welcome feeling, [it feels] like we’re friends or maybe part of the family,” Barranti describes. “We never changed any of that.”
