July 9 is the 92nd birthday of Millie Spenger, the oldest living member of the family that founded Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley in 1890. Spenger’s subsequently became the longest operating family owned restaurant west of the Mississippi. In the spirit of the occasion, all Spenger’s guests visiting the restaurant on July 9 will receive a complimentary piece of birthday cake.

“We are pleased to be able share such an extraordinary milestone with Millie Spenger and with the dining community that has help make the restaurant the culinary landmark that it has become,” comments Spenger’s General Manager Richard Villarreal. “Millie is an amazing lady and it’s a privilege to know her.”

When the Spenger family decided to retire from the restaurant business about eight years ago, they forged a partnership with Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick of McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants who have a love for historic dining spots and who spent five million dollars to painstakingly refurbish Spenger’s in honor of Millie and her husband Frank.

The Spenger family’s involvement with the seafood restaurant business began in 1865 when Johan (John) Spenger, a fisherman from Bavaria, emigrated from Germany to the Bay Area and began fishing out of San Francisco. In the 1880’s he moved his family to Berkeley, ending up in the current location of Spenger’s on what was then the Fourth Street mud flats.

In addition to the wide variety of the freshest seafood, extraordinary libations are a hallmark of Spenger’s, which pours classic, contemporary and signature cocktails and offers an extensive wine list with 20 selections available by the glass. The restaurant’s unique showcase bars seat walk-in guests without reservations who can order from a bar menu, as well as from the full menu.