Nation's Foodservice, Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Nation's Giant Hamburgers or simply Nation's, is a

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

El Cerrito,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based regional

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

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

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 ...

. Its menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, breakfast items, and pies. The chain, founded in 1952, largely operates in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, especially the Greater East Bay, with some locations also in the Sacramento area and the Stockton area.

History

Russ Harvey bought a six-stool hot dog stand in 1952 near the corner of 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,

San Pablo, California San Pablo (Spanish language, Spanish for "Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current mayor is P ...

, 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. After it became successful, he changed the restaurant's name to ''Harvey's Giant Hamburgers''. In 1960, local teenager Dale Power was hired as a janitor and continued his employment from high school to his graduation at the nearby

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. 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 then added to the menu over time including breakfast, lunch, other dinner items, and pies. In 1994, Power became the company's president after Harvey retired. Originally only in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company has since expanded east into

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and San Joaquin counties.

Locations

, the chain has 31 total locations across the

, the Sacramento area and the Stockton area. Nine are in Contra Costa including: Brentwood,

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, El Cerrito, Moraga,

Orinda Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorado ...

, Pleasant Hill,

Pittsburg Pittsburg may refer to: Places United States Cities, towns, townships and counties *Pittsburg, California * Pittsburg, Florida *Pittsburg, Kansas, Crawford County *Pittsburg, New Hampshire * Pittsburg, Oklahoma *Pittsburg, Texas *Pittsburg Coun ...

, San Pablo, and Tara Hills. The original San Pablo location is no longer standing, and the current San Pablo Nation's is on the same site as the original restaurant 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,

. There are nine Nation's in

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...

Alameda An alameda is a 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 * Alameda (Santi ...

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 to ...

Castro Valley Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, it was the fourth most populous unincorporated area in California. The population was 66,441 at the 2020 census. Castro Valley is ...

, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore,

, Pleasanton, 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 south ...

. The Oakland location remains in the Jack London Square District. There are four in

Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield metropolitan statistical area, which is a ...

, located in

Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait 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. ...

, Fairfield,

Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...

, and Vallejo. There are two in

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

, located in

Daly City Daly City () is the second-most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its northern border with almost all of San Francisco's southern ...

and

South San Francisco South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially termed "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. History P ...

. There is only one Nation's in Napa in the county by the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

. Four restaurants are in the Central Valley cities of Lodi,

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

, Stockton, and Tracy in

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County ( ; , meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San Jo ...

. Expansion in 2011 brought the chain into

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacrament ...

; locations there include Citrus Heights and

. The first restaurants outside of California are located in Texas in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area in

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, Denton, and

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north, ...

. Two locations are slated to open in the latter half of 2025; Pacifica, which will mark a third location in

and San Jose which will be the first location in

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

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

History

Locations

See also

References

External links