Congratulations to Nation's Giant Hamburgers of San Pablo

for celebrating 70 years in business in 2022!

NATION’S STORY: A Man, A Buick, and a Hot Dog Stand

In the fall of 1951, Russ [Russell Merrick] Harvey was employed by Butler steel manufacturer for the Richmond shipyards. While looking for a second, part-time job to supplement his income, and like many men during those post-war days, it brought him to Al's, a six-stool hot dog stand at the corner of San Pablo Avenue, where it meets with the end of the Dam Road. He asked the owner if he needed help on the weekends, to which he answered "Nope, no jobs, but I'll sell it to you." The asking price was $1,100. Harvey's personal wealth at that time amounted to one used 1948 Buick which he promptly sold. He scraped together a few more dollars, but only managed to raise $700. Eventually, he and the owner worked out a schedule for the balance.

By November 1952, he was the proud owner of a business that consisted of a "10-foot-wide counter with six counter stools, a freezer full of hot dogs and hamburger patties, some reasonably fresh buns and a leftover bowl of dreams." Russ Harvey went out for a job and wound up owning a hot dog stand! Later, as Russ added extra large, tasty hamburgers to the grill, word of mouth spread like wildfire. People loved all the toppings and the price was just right, too. So, Harvey’s Original Giant Hamburger was born and the lines at his San Pablo stand grew longer. Eventually, Harvey opened a second restaurant in 1958 at 1100 23rd Street (corner of Lowell) in Richmond.

In 1961, an enterprising 15-year-old Richmond High student named Dale John Power (once a neighbor to Russ Harvey) managed to land a job as a janitor at the second location on 23rd, continuing to work there through college and graduate school, moving up in jobs. By 1970, Power had managed to buy his first restaurant location in Oakland near Jack London Square, and he and Harvey became partners in a small, but mighty hamburger chain. After entering into a partnership, he later christened his restaurants Nation's; the name was decided upon under the belief that they sold the best hamburgers in the nation. Power's Oakland location was the first restaurant to display the new signage with "Nation's Giant Hamburgers." By 1994, Dale Power became president of Nation's after Russ Harvey retired. Today, Nation's Foodservice, Inc. headquarters is at 11090 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito.

Surce: Our Story | NATION'S Giant Hamburgers  | Best Since 1952 (nationsrestaurants.com) 

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