“We simply weren’t getting the traction needed at that location,” Truong told the outlet.
The closure comes weeks after a Reddit photo showed four packages of raw ground beef and a large jar of mayonnaise left on the sidewalk outside the Guerrero Street restaurant during a March heat wave. At the time, Truong told the Chronicle that a delivery person left the food outside because no staff were there to receive it. He said the meat was discarded and not used.
“It’s a horrible image to have ground beef sitting on the sidewalk, but we have protocols against using products like that, and we definitely do not condone leaving it outside like that,” Truong told the Chronicle.
Hamburger Project also addressed the incident on Instagram, saying the product was “immediately discarded as it was obviously compromised by being on the ground, without proper temperature control.”
The Guerrero Street location opened in 2025 in the former Handroll Project space, another restaurant from the group behind Hamburger Project. Truong and chef Geoffrey Lee had previously operated Handroll Project, as well as the Michelin Guide-listed sushi restaurant Ju-Ni.
Hamburger Project’s original Divisadero Street location remains open. That restaurant opened in December 2024 and drew early attention for selling more than 1,000 burgers in its first two days.
The burger business has also faced public scrutiny involving Lee, who stepped back from the restaurant group in early 2025 after a dispute with a local influencer drew backlash online.
In March, Lee said on Instagram that his involvement with Hamburger Project was “minimal,” while clarifying that he was working at Ju-Ni.
The Mission District closure adds another chapter to a Guerrero Street address with a long history of restaurant turnover. Before Hamburger Project and Handroll Project, the corner space housed Al’s Deli, Izakaya Yuzuki and other businesses.