After less than a year in operation, smash burger spot Hamburger Project closed its Guerrero Street location as of Sunday, April 19. Co-owner Tan Truong confirmed the news to Eater SF via text, stating, “We simply weren’t getting the traction needed at that location.”
The closure comes less than a month after the restaurant made unsavory headlines in late March. A photo captured tubes of raw ground beef left outside the restaurant’s door during a heatwave and was subsequently posted to Reddit. The thread went viral, and the restaurant was forced to respond in a statement on Instagram, noting that the product was “immediately discarded as it was obviously compromised by being on the ground, without proper temperature control.” Truong told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time that staff weren’t present at the restaurant to receive the order, resulting in the delivery driver leaving four packages of raw meat and a jar of mayonnaise outside the door.
The original Divisadero Street location of Hamburger Project remains open, Truong confirms. That space had its own controversy, following a December 2024 clash between Geoffrey Lee and influencer Kathleen Ensign over her review of the restaurant in its opening month. Lee ultimately stepped back from Hamburger Project and his other restaurants — then-open Handroll Project and Michelin Guide-listed sushi restaurant Ju-Ni — as of January 3, 2025.
During the ensuing issue around the raw beef delivery at Guerrero Street, on March 23, Lee clarified his role at those restaurants via Instagram. He stated that he is not involved in the day-to-day operations and that he has “minimal” involvement in Hamburger Project other than supporting the restaurant “during high-volume moments” — a statement that the restaurant shared via its Instagram page. He further clarified that he was asked to return to Ju-Ni due to his “specific skill set” — presumably as sushi chef — and that his current position “is centered on a more focused and intentional dining experience” there.