Anna Miller's

Beginnings

Stanley Miller named the restaurant after his grandmother. After several California locations opened in the late 1960s, the chain added a Hawaii restaurant in 1973, its seventh. That same year, 25 licensed locations began opening in Japan.

Wade Hashizume, later a manager in Hawaii, started as a baker there in 1976. At its peak, ten Anna Miller's restaurants operated. From August 2022 to February 2026, only the Hawaii restaurant remained open until a new Japanese branch opened.

Japan

In Japan, Anna Miller's became known for its waitress uniforms: a white blouse, an orange or pink miniskirted jumper-style dress with a bodice-like waistline, a matching apron, and a heart-shaped name tag. This outfit likely helped establish the maid café phenomenon.

In June 2022, operator Imuraya announced the last active Japanese restaurant, in Takanawa (opened 1983), would close on August 31, 2022. An online shop continued, and a pop-up shop at Tokyo's Koenji Station opened in late 2022 without the uniforms. In June 2025, a new branch was reported for Tokyo's Minami-Aoyama district, delayed from December 2025 to February 2026, when it opened.

Cultural references

Anna Miller's waitress uniforms have appeared as homages and parodies in numerous anime, manga, and video games, inspiring cosplay. In the Variable Geo series, the main character Yuka Takeuchi wears the uniform during battle at a restaurant called "Hanna Miller's". In the 1997 drama Risou no Kekkon (Wedding Story), protagonist Yamada Mari, played by Tokiwa Takako, works as a waitress at Anna Miller's.

In Excel Saga, characters Excel and Hyatt work in a cafe wearing the uniforms. In Oh My Goddess!, Urd works at "Ana Miller's" in the same uniform. The visual novel Welcome to Pia Carrot revolves around a similar fictional chain.

In the web comic MegaTokyo, Nanasawa Kimiko works at an Anna Miller's in Tokyo. Akira Uehara from Your and My Secret works at the restaurant. In Clock Tower, Jennifer Simpson has an unlockable Anna Miller's-like waitress uniform.