Hash House A Go Go sues the city over lost business from Hillcrest storm drain construction

The Fifth Avenue breakfast spot says months of storm drain work drove customers away and cost it tens of thousands of dollars a month. The city declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

By Claudia · Oct 7, 2026

Hash House A Go Go is suing the City of San Diego, saying a storm drain project on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest cut into its business from December 2025 through June 2026, Times of San Diego and SanDiegoVille reported Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The restaurant says the work took away parking, snarled traffic, kicked up dust and closed nearby side streets. In its filings it puts its February losses at more than $40,000, nearly 18% below its three-year average for the month, and its May losses at about $28,000. Hash House and other Hillcrest businesses first filed claims with the city, which denied them.

The construction is the city's Fifth Avenue and Brookes Avenue storm drain upgrade, a contract of about $4.7 million awarded in 2025, SanDiegoVille reported. The city declined to comment because the matter is in litigation. Not every neighbor is suing; the owner of nearby Divo Diva Cafe told both outlets she decided against it.

The restaurant's claims have not been tested in court.

How this story was made: drafted with AI assistance, then checked line by line against the sources below by a San Diego Insight editor before publishing. Our standards.