New owners for Burlingame’s Copenhagen

“They say if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” said Sean, a Foster City resident of more than 30 years. “We’re serving everything the same exactly.”

The brothers also own Max’s of Burlingame and the recently opened Dahlia Mexican Grill in San Mateo, in addition to Birk’s, a steakhouse in Santa Clara.

Copenhagen was opened at its Burlingame Avenue location in 1977 by brothers Ralf and Ben Nielsen, who moved from Copenhagen, Denmark, in the 1950s as children. Prior to opening the bakery, Ralf returned to Denmark to learn the bakery business from his uncles and grandfather who were bakers.

The bakery has expanded over the years, including into a next-door building in the early 1980s. Full-service dinner offerings were added in the 1990s, something cut amid the pandemic but that could be reinstated under new ownership.

Ralf, now 78, said it was a tough choice to sell the business, but he is looking forward to his next chapter in life, which will include more time to sail and ski while spending more time in Lake Tahoe.

“We’ve looked long and hard trying to figure out how to retire, and it’s with mixed feelings,” he said. “We have long-term employees, it’s like family nowadays, and customers we’ve known for 40 years.”

He said he’ll be sticking around to ensure the transfer goes smoothly, and he believes the move will prove beneficial for the community and his customers. For most customers, he said, the change will hardly be noticeable.

“They have energy, they have money to put into the business, which we don’t have,” he said of the soon-to-be owners. “Somebody needs to be paying more attention and bring in a few new ideas.”

Sean and his brother moved to the United States 40 years ago from their home country Iran. Sean said he came to the county with $1,500 to his name and went first to school in Utah for electrical engineering before moving to California in 1987 to study accounting.

After working two jobs, at Jack in the Box during the day and delivering pizzas at night, Sean and his brother eventually saved up enough to purchase a Mrs. Fields cookie store in San Francisco, and later a pizza restaurant in Foster City.

Sean said he regularly visits Burlingame, and he and his wife have always enjoyed the Copenhagen bakery.

Copenhagen is located at 1216 Burlingame Ave. and is open seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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