Nation's Giant Hamburgers, or simply Nation's, is a privately held El Cerrito, California-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.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, 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. 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 Alameda,

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,

Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...

and San Leandro. 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: Concord, 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 ...

in San Mateo County, which is the only Nation's in the San Francisco Peninsula, Napa in the county by the same name, and two restaurants in the Central Valley cities of Stockton and Tracy in San Joaquin County. 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 Citrus Heights is a city in Sacramento County, California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 87,583, up from 83,301 at the 2010 U.S. Census. History Citrus Heights voters approved the measure to incorporate the City on Nov ...

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