The owners of the Grinder came together to redefine the words "coffee shop" for people throughout Southern California. They came up with the Grinder Restaurant, a new style coffee shop that offers savory meals and attentive service at low prices.

Everything about the original Grinder was a change from the early 1960's coffee shop, right down to the name. The founders wanted to focus on specialty hamburgers in their new coffee shop, with an emphasis on freshness. The elements of ground coffee, ground beef and freshness led to the name Grinder.

Co-founder and President Bert Blender brought to the Grinder three generations of operational experience from his family's residence-inn near the banks of the Danube in Sigmaringen, Germany. Blender and his partners used their operational expertise to establish a formula for affordable, fine, fresh food to serve to people throughout Southern California.

From the start, the founders departed from the brightly-lighted plastic monotony of a typical 60's coffee shop and created restaurants with warm colors and soft lighting.

Over the past 30 years, the Grinder has continued to set new standards with innovative ideas. This "maverick" attitude made the Grinder among the first coffee shops to offer beer and wine, a move considered questionable by others. The restaurants have always served authentic Belgian waffles, gourmet hamburgers and a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Blender's inventive spirit still draws him to the kitchen where he creates menu items tailored toward the health conscience public. In the 1990's we introduced the Buffalo Burger to our menu along with various ethnic foods such as Spicy Thai Pasta and Cajun Chicken. Today, the Grinder offers its customers everything from pepperjack cheese to a Special Grinder Sauce made with Dijon mustard, while maintaining items like our popular USDA Choice steak and freshly made onion strings.

The Grinder has remained on the cutting edge of the restaurant business by using top quality products and focusing on customer preference. Our locations use advanced point of sale systems as well as integrated technology to stay on top of an ever-changing industry. Each restaurant is remodeled periodically to maintain a fresh and contemporary look, with particular attention to landscaping and outdoor patios. The Grinder is truly one of the original family style restaurants in Southern California.