Nation's Giant Hamburgers, or simply Nation's, is a privately held El Cerrito,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-based

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

. The chain, founded in 1952, largely operates in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

.Company Information
, NationsRestaurants.com, access date 13-03-2009 The majority (87.5%) of locations are focused in the

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Greater East Bay; consisting of

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, Contra Costa, and Solano counties. Nation's Restaurant Location List
, NationsRestaurants.com, access date 13-03-2009

History

Harvey's Giant Hamburgers

Russ Harvey bought a six-stool hot dog stand on San Pablo Ave, where it meets with the end of San Pablo Dam Rd. in 1952 with money he obtained through the sale of his 1948 Buick. He subsequently added hamburgers to the menu of the hot dog restaurant with a focus on large portions. This gastronomic decision proved successful with the clientele. The restaurant's name was changed to ''Harvey's Giant Hamburgers''.

Dale Power

In 1961 local teenager Dale Power was hired as a janitor and continued his employment from high school to bachelor's and master's degrees at the nearby

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. In 1970 he purchased his first restaurant in the Jack London Square District in neighboring

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Partnership and expansion

He christened it Nation's; the name was decided upon under the belief that they sold the best hamburgers in the nation. At this point Russ Harvey changed the name of his restaurant to Nation's as the two men became partners under a unified brand. More items were added to the menu over time including breakfast, lunch, and dinner items and award-winning pies. Currently Power remains with the company as CEO and president, while Harvey has retired. The company has expanded to 24 locations as of 2009 with eateries in six counties.

Locations

The chain has eight locations in Alameda County, in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore,

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and

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

. There are four in Solano County, located in

Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...

, Fairfield,

Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it th ...

and Vallejo. Furthermore, there are ten locations in Contra Costa County including:

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, El Cerrito,

Moraga Moraga is a List of municipalities in California, town in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As ...

, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, San Pablo, Tara Hills (an unincorporated area), and Brentwood, which opened in October 2010. The Castro Valley location was opened in April 2014. The original San Pablo location is no longer standing, and the current San Pablo Nation's is located at San Pablo Avenue and

San Pablo Dam Road San Pablo Dam Road is a major arterial road linking San Pablo and Orinda, California in the United States, which connects San Pablo Avenue and Interstate 80 with Highway 24,

. on the same site as the original restaurant. There are single store locations in three other Bay Area counties:

Daly City Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

, which is the only Nation's in the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo A ...

, Napa in the county by the same name, and two restaurants in the Central Valley cities of Stockton and Tracy in

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning "Joachim, St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 20 ...

. Expansion brought the chain out of the Bay Area and into the Sacramento Valley. In May 2012, a restaurant located on Sunrise Blvd, Citrus Heights was opened, followed by another in

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jersey * ...

, which opened in May 2013.

References

External links

Official website
{{Fast-food chains of the United States San Pablo, California Fast-food hamburger restaurants Restaurants established in 1952 Fast-food chains of the United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Companies based in Contra Costa County, California Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area El Cerrito, California 1952 establishments in California