TV Restaurants

Is Hodad's Still Open? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update (San Diego, CA)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Hodad's is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
Wikipedia ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Yelp listing for Hodad's Ocean Beach at 5010 Newport Ave, updated August 2026, showed the restaurant active with over 6,600 reviews, and Wikipedia (revised 2026-08-03) states the restaurant has enjoyed a large sales increase since its TV appearance with no reported closure.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Hodad's Ocean Beach appeared in the "With Bacon" episode (S1E3), which featured the restaurant's bacon cheeseburger. Hodad's is a small hamburger restaurant chain in San Diego, California, established in 1969 by husband and wife Byron and Virginia Hardin, according to Wikipedia (revised 2026-08-03). Following Byron's death in 1984, his son Mike Hardin took over daily operations and later moved the restaurant to its current Newport Avenue location in Ocean Beach, according to Wikipedia. Mike died in 2015, leaving the business to his children Shane and Lexi, according to Wikipedia. A site check on 2026-09-08 found Hodad's website (hodadsoceanbeach.com) live, listing the Ocean Beach location along with an online ordering widget and gift-card sales. Wikipedia also reports that the restaurant has appeared on Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and has been included on multiple "best of" lists for its burgers.

Guy Fieri returned to Hodad's, the Ocean Beach burger stand, for the "All San Diego, All the Time" segment after an earlier Triple D visit to the same restaurant. According to Ocean Beach San Diego News, the revisit centered on the Guido Burger, a menu item topped with pastrami, Swiss cheese, spicy brown mustard, and grilled onions that remains on the menu today. SanDiegoVille's retrospective road-map of Fieri's local stops likewise credits Hodad's repeat appearance to that pastrami-topped burger. The segment aired as part of the season 17 episode that also featured Pizzeria Luigi and OB Noodle House in the same Ocean Beach neighborhood.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Hodad's in Ocean Beach, San Diego in the 'Seaside Eats' episode, spotlighting the small burger chain's bacon cheeseburger. Byron and Virginia Hardin established Hodad's in 1969; after Byron died in 1984, their son Mike Hardin took over operations, later moving the business to its current Newport Avenue location in Ocean Beach and opening additional locations near Petco Park and at 10th Avenue and Broadway. Mike Hardin died in 2015, leaving the business to his children, Shane and Lexi. According to Wikipedia (revised 2026-08-03), Hodad's has enjoyed a large increase in sales since its Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives appearance, often selling thousands of burgers daily, and has appeared on multiple best-of lists. A Yelp listing for the Ocean Beach location at 5010 Newport Ave, updated August 2026, showed the restaurant active with more than 6,600 reviews.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Hodad's Ocean Beach in San Diego, California, for the "Takeout: Carnivore Delivery" episode, which aired on Food Network on 2021-03-19. Hodad's Ocean Beach bills itself, on its own website, as the "Best American Restaurant in San Diego" and lists a menu, drinks, gift cards, shop merchandise, and upcoming events, along with an option for large group orders. The restaurant operates on Newport Avenue in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego. A site check on 2026-09-08 found hodadsoceanbeach.com still live with a working online ordering system and links to the business's Instagram and Google pages, according to the business's website. Google Places separately lists the business as operational. No news coverage of a closure, sale, or relocation was found in the available records.

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 1, Episode 3
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
With Bacon
What was featured
the restaurant's bacon cheeseburger, its signature dish
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Hodad's
Season / episode
Season 17, Episode 11
Original air date
Episode title
All San Diego, All the Time
What was featured
Return visit for the Guido Burger with pastrami and grilled onions
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Hodad's
Season / episode
Season 2, Episode 3
Original air date
Episode title
Seaside Eats
What was featured
the bacon cheeseburger at a beloved San Diego burger joint
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Hodad's
Season / episode
Season 33, Episode 11
Original air date
Episode title
Takeout: Carnivore Delivery
What was featured
Hodad's Ocean Beach menu on the Takeout: Carnivore Delivery episode
Role
Revisit episode
Name on the broadcast
Hodad's

Frequently asked questions

Is Hodad's still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Hodad's is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

What happened to Hodad's after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Hodad's Ocean Beach appeared in the "With Bacon" episode (S1E3), which featured the restaurant's bacon cheeseburger. As of September 2026, Hodad's is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

Where is Hodad's located?

5010 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA 92107. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Hodad's?

Season 1, Episode 3 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “With Bacon”.

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Visit info

Address
5010 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA 92107
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
hodadsoceanbeach.com

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