A 73-year-old Bay Area burger chain has finally claimed its long-awaited foothold in San Francisco proper, transforming the former home of wax celebrities into a destination for giant hamburgers and homemade pies at Fisherman's Wharf.
Nation's Giant Hamburgers opened yesterday at 145 Jefferson Street, taking over the 11,000-square-foot space that housed Madame Tussauds wax museum until its closure in August 2024. Mayor Daniel Lurie led a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m., marking what Nation's CEO Adam Smith called "a dream decades in the making."
For a chain founded in San Pablo in 1952 that now operates more than 30 locations across Northern California, the Fisherman's Wharf debut represents a significant milestone. Despite having restaurants in Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Daly City, South San Francisco, and Pacifica, as SFGATE noted, Nation's had never established a presence within San Francisco city limits until now.
From Hot Dogs to Hamburger Empire
The Nation's origin story reads like classic American entrepreneurship. In 1952, Russ Harvey traded his 1948 Buick for a six-stool hot dog stand in San Pablo, according to Wikipedia. When he couldn't find a hamburger made the way he wanted, he created his own, adding oversized burgers to the menu of what was then called Harvey's Giant Hamburgers.
The transformation into Nation's came through an unlikely partnership. In 1961, a 15-year-old Dale Power took a janitorial job at Harvey's second location, working his way through college and graduate school at UC Berkeley. By 1970, Power had saved enough to purchase his first restaurant in Oakland's Jack London Square and convinced Harvey to join forces under a unified brand. They chose the name "Nation's" because they believed they served the best hamburgers in the nation, as SFGATE reported in 2021.
Today, Dale Power's son Grant Power owns the company, which relocated its headquarters from El Cerrito to Texas last year while maintaining its Northern California identity. Nation's is known for its all-day breakfast, 1/3-pound burgers, and 14 varieties of fresh-baked pies made daily at the company's El Cerrito pie facility.
Filling a Void on the Wharf
The new location operates Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with extended hours until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays—timing strategically aligned with Fleet Week, which brings thousands of visitors to the waterfront, according to KRON4.
The restaurant occupies a space with deep entertainment history. A wax museum operated at this Jefferson Street location continuously from 1963 to 2024. Thomas Fong originally opened the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in a former chicken feed warehouse in 1963, running the family business for 50 years before Madame Tussauds took over in 2014. Madame Tussauds closed on August 3, 2024, ending a 61-year run of wax attractions at the site, as SFist reported.
Nation's arrival is part of a broader restaurant revitalization along Jefferson Street. As SFGATE noted, the area is seeing a wave of new dining options including Taco Bell Cantina (expected late 2025 or early 2026), Raising Cane's chicken (summer 2026), Oakland's Everett & Jones barbecue (late 2025), South American restaurant Chasca Rio, and a revival of historic seafood spot Castagnola's.
A Neighborhood in Transformation
These openings come as Fisherman's Wharf works to recover from pandemic-era closures that devastated the tourist-dependent corridor. The neighborhood attracted 12.5 million visitors last year, but has faced declining tourism spending and foot traffic since 2020, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report.
The city is undertaking a $10 million transformation of the area, including demolishing the shuttered Alioto's restaurant to create a 5,000-square-foot public plaza with wavelike seating, picnic tables, and views of the Monterey Hull fishing boats. String lights will crisscross above the space, while new signage will depict the history of the wharf and the fishing industry, according to renderings released by the Port of San Francisco in September, as the Chronicle reported.
Mayor Lurie called the plaza project part of efforts to "reinvigorate the heart of Fisherman's Wharf, accelerate the projected growth in tourism, and drive San Francisco's comeback."
The demolition of Alioto's is scheduled for November-December 2025, with plaza construction beginning in February 2026 and completion expected by summer 2026, according to SFist.
Business Philosophy and Expansion Plans
Nation's success stems from a distinctive business model focused on employee development and community accessibility. CEO Grant Power told SFGATE in 2021 that his father Dale wanted to create restaurants where "someone maybe didn't sleep all night and they've got to get something to eat and they feel comfortable coming in their pajamas." The chain's late-night hours and all-day breakfast reflect this philosophy.
The company recently announced it's accepting franchisees, marking a significant expansion phase. In December 2024, Nation's brought on new leadership including Director of Marketing Kelsey McManemin, who previously led marketing for Salata Salad Kitchen and was recognized in QSR Magazine's "Young Restaurant Leaders to Watch 2023" list.
The chain already operates three locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, representing its first expansion outside California.
What's on the Menu
Nation's signature item remains its Giant Hamburger—a 1/3-pound all-beef patty served on a toasted bun with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, dressing, and a touch of mustard. The chain uses beef specifically ground to its specifications from two local butchers, with deliveries arriving fresh three times weekly, according to the company website.
The pie program operates from Nation's El Cerrito facility, where workers top nearly 800 pies daily using a pie-topping machine added in 2011. The company operates its own fleet of pie trucks that make nightly deliveries to all locations. The menu features 14 pie varieties, from classic apple and cherry to specialty options like chocolate cream and banana cream.
Breakfast has been available all day at most Nation's locations since 1978, when the San Pablo and Newark stores first tested the concept. The morning menu includes traditional options like eggs, pancakes, and French toast alongside hearty combinations designed for any time of day.
