A man describing himself as a "North Beach native" threw a metal chair through the window of Sam's Burgers—a restaurant praised by Anthony Bourdain as "top three in the world," its owner told The Standard.
Sam's owner, Emad El Shawa, said the man entered the burger joint at around 2:30 p.m. Monday and harassed employees, who immediately called 911.
"While on the phone with the police dispatch, this person grabbed one of our metal outdoor chairs and threw it through the front window and took off running towards Stockton Street, breaking the front window and damaging several pieces of equipment inside of Sam’s," El Shawa said. "We are thankful for the SFPD's quick response and are glad that nobody got hurt. We thank the community for its support and will be back open for business [on Tuesday]."
The San Francisco Police Department did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
Sam's Burgers began in 1966 at 618 Broadway and opened a new restaurant recently, Sam's East—just west of Sam's next door at 620 Broadway.
Sam's tradition of all-hours neighborhood service and tasty classic grilled and fried cuisine has drawn praise over the decades, but perhaps most notably during the San Francisco-focused 10th episode of Bourdain's two-season Travel Channel show The Layover.
In it, Bourdain sampled a burger at Sam's before saying, "That's a good burger. Top three in the world!" A sign outside frames the quote for posterity.