The Hamburger Hut Makes Triumphant Return To San Diego's North County

July 3, 2022

After being shut down by the city late last year, the hospitality team behind Moto Deli, Valentina Restaurant and Corner Pizza have reopened The Hamburger Hut, a San Diego burger & beer restaurant with a new tiki theme and full bar.

Local entrepreneur Mario Guerra has been quietly launching eateries in the Leucadia area of Encinitas for the past few years. In late 2016, he opened Moto Deli right off the 101, offering a menu of chef-driven, artisan sandwiches. Three years ago, he converted the original Moto Deli space to become the Spanish/Mediterranean-inspired Valentina restaurant and relocated his sandwich shop down the street. In fall 2020, Guerra took the quaint space that last housed Umi Sushi on Highway 101 and launched Corner Pizza, a Brooklyn-style pizzeria, raw bar, wine house and beer garden. Guerra is in the process of opening a second Corner Pizza within the incoming Mercantile 2 complex in Oceanside.

Last fall, the city of Encinitas forced the original Hamburger Hut to shutter at 190 N. Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Although the space went from one restaurant to another, the city deemed the use had changed and essentially made it impossible for Hamburger Hut to reopen at that location. Guerra then took over the standalone Encinitas space that housed Priority Public House since 2013 for the new Hamburger Hut, which has a tiki theme and will offer frequent live musical performances. The restaurant is currently in its soft opening stage but will eventually have a more expanded menu centered around flat-top cheeseburgers, tavern fare and a full bar with cocktails, wine and local craft beer.

In addition to The Hamburger Hut, Guerra's newly incorporated The Leucadia Company is also working on the launch of The Jaguar Room snack & cocktail bar, and Sushi Henso - an omakase-exclusive Japanese speakeasy concept. Both concepts are purely in development-mode, but Guerra hopes to eventually launch them in Encinitas.

The Hamburger Hut is now open this summer at 576 North Coast Highway 101 in San Diego's Encinitas. For more information, visit thehamburgerhut.com and check out the current menu below.