A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing shows that the North California institution Nation’s Giant Hamburgers is eyeing an expansion into Arlington.
The company plans to spend $800,000 in construction costs to renovate a former Grandy’s building at 4180 S. Cooper St. near W. Pleasant Ridge Way, the filing shows.
Work on the project is scheduled to begin in December, with a delivery date set for May of next year, according to the filing.
Cities like Arlington and others around the metroplex have been enjoying a steady influx of new residents and businesses in recent years, unlike Dallas, where delays in permitting under City Manager T.C. Broadnax have allegedly hampered commercial projects.
The Nation’s burger joint in Arlington would not only mark the first location in Texas but possibly the company’s first outside California.
Nation’s opened as a small hot dog stand in San Pablo, California, in 1952, according to its website. The menu grew to include hamburgers and eventually breakfast foods and homemade pies. The concept has since grown to include 28 restaurants across the state in cities like San Jose, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Modesto. Local farms supply Nation’s produce, and California butchers cut the restaurant’s meat.
In August, the burger chain revealed that it would start to expand into “new markets” beginning in 2024, per a report in FSR Magazine. The company advertises franchise opportunities across Northern California on its website, though no locations in Texas are listed. The contact information for Nation’s Franchisor Inc. is connected to a Garland address.
Nation’s added new executives in August to guide the company’s growth. This includes Michelle Bythewood. She has a track record of working with Texas-based businesses, such as Salata Salad Kitchen, where she most recently led expansions into Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta.
IDStudio4 of Irving is listed as the design firm on the state filing tied to the new Nation’s location. IDStudio4’s clients in Texas include Bellagreen American Bistro, Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke, Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar, Good Union Urban Barbeque, Hat Creek Burger Company, Pizzeria Testa in Dallas, The Ranch at Los Colinas, Razzoo’s Cajun Cafe and Sugarbacon.
