SAN DIEGO — With burgers piled high with cheese and veggies, crispy onion rings and frosty milkshakes, there’s a reason they’ve sold 99 gazillion since 1969. Hodad’s in Ocean Beach is a famous spot for classic burgers, but like many of the bars and restaurants on Newport Ave, the pandemic has turned their business upside down.
“We’ve got a lot of community support around here,” said Shane Hardin, a third-generation owner of Hodad’s. “We’ve been fortunate enough to have a good to go product. I know that’s not the case for everyone.”
In order to follow state guidelines, the city has allowed restaurants to build outdoor patios to serve hungry customers under the San Diego sun. But wanting to stay true to their OB roots and match the feel of their iconic restaurant inside, Hodad’s surrounded their patio with surfboards.
“It’s kind of hard to create an ambiance outside that reflects what it would feel like inside,” said Hardin. “We wanted to make something that felt somewhat like Hodad’s.”
While Hardin is proud of the surfboard patio outside, the iconic indoor dining room isn’t going anywhere.
“I grew up in here. This is like my home. This is my house,” he said. “The inside is not going anywhere. I mean as soon as we can start letting people inside we’re a go.”
WATCH: Back in 1994, the Unknown Eater visited Hodad's in Ocean Beach: