THE MERCURY NEWS APRIL 1, 2014
Photo by Horace Hinshaw
Breakers restaurant recently opened in Rockaway Beach. Owners Steve Bancroft (left) and Ray Geith, right, greet cutstomers (l-r) Michelle Blagrove, Fallyn Lucia, Paulie Lucia, Stacey Spalding and Rich Bacchi at a morning breakfast.
By CHRISTA BIGUE | Pacifica Tribune
PUBLISHED: April 1, 2014 at 11:04 am | UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 10:48 am
“Life is better at Breakers.”
That’s the motto behind the father and son duo, Steve and Robby Bancroft, who recently opened Pacifica’s newest breakfast, brunch and lunch joint, Breakers, located in Rockaway Beach.
“It’s a dream come true,” said son Robby, 28, one recent weekday at the restaurant. “My dad always had a dream of working for himself, and now he is, not only with me but also in his hometown doing what he loves to do. Can’t get better than that. We feel like we scored on life with opening Breakers.”
In the former Acapulco Restaurant space across from Nick’s, Breakers has a fresh look with new windows, tile, tables and chairs and walls painted in bold, earthy tones. The space is cheerful, airy and light with views of the Pacifica Ocean outside and beautiful photography of local coastal scenes by Pacifica photographer Bradley Wittke inside.
The menu, with the restaurant’s logo displayed on the front paying tribute to the Pacifica Pier, is extensive and includes to-go options as well. Popular breakfast items are the Crab Cake Benedict and Bacon Waffle. When it comes to lunch, the tuna melt on rye bread, Monte Cristo with ham and powdered sugar, and Rueben sandwiches are all getting great feedback from customers, said Robby.
“People are telling us they really like our burgers, too, and the lunch crepes are a hit as well,” said Robby.
Still, serving breakfast and lunch and making it taste good comes naturally to the Bancroft’s.
Steve worked in the breakfast and lunch industry as a general manager for Stacks in Burlingame while raising Robby as a single dad living in Pacifica.
“My dad knows what it takes to run a breakfast and lunch place. It was also a schedule that allowed him to drop me off at school and pick me up in the afternoon,” said Robby.
At one point both father and son worked at Chili’s in San Bruno, and Steve was always cooking breakfast for Robby and his friends.
“This is a family business atmosphere,” said Robby. “People who know my dad including my friends know him for his standard and his breakfasts. There’s always coffee and water on the table and good service and food.”
The opportunity to open Breakers came in the middle of a lifelong dream for the Bancroft’s when Ray Geith, owner of Good Fellas Pizza and Upper Crust Deli in Pacifica, approached the pair about opening up a place together. “I used to work for Ray as a teenager,” said Robby, “and since then we always said we should open a restaurant a together.”
Never did he think that dream would come true with his dad, however.
“My dad and I also talked about opening up a place together for years,” said Robby. “To put our dream into action in our hometown beyond the four walls of our apartment has made us proud. Ray enabled us to do what we thought was best with opening Breakers.”
For the Bancrofts, being Terra Nova High School graduates, every day at Breakers is like a high school reunion. “He was class of ’75 and I was a 2004 graduate,” said Robby. “Between the two of us, we see a lot of people we know come in here, but this is where anyone can come and start their day off right,” said Robby, who shares a tight bond of common interests with his dad having both grown up in Pacifica.
“We want people to come here and feel inspired,” said Steve, “to start their day off right with a great food in a family atmosphere that’s open to locals and visitors.”
Since opening Breakers Robby says they are looking forward to moving back home to Pacifica after living a few years in San Bruno then Belmont starting in 2009.
As they seat customers and take orders they affectionately call each other Marlin and Nemo after the father and son clownfish in the Disney/Pixar 2003 film Finding Nemo.
“Marlin is like the dad I grew up with,” said Robby referring to the movie. “He raises his son alone and shows fatherhood in a positive way, teaching his son how to learn and grow so that makes me Nemo. I’ve watched my dad work so hard all those years. It’s great to see him at Breakers so happy living our dream.”
Breakers is located at 145 Rockaway Beach Avenue in Pacifica and is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. Check http://ilovebreakers.com/ for new hours this spring or call (650) 557-1274.
Christa Bigue can be reached at biguechrista@gmail.com.