Smashburger to Move Into Bogey Hills Plaza This Month

When David Schweitzer went to open a bank account for his new business, he struck up a conversation with the personal banker. It didn’t take long before Schweitzer had a customer.

“He had just been to a in Houston, and he was very excited about it,” he said of the man at the bank. “Later, I was mailing off some information at the post office, and the mailman saw that it was going to Smashburger. He was all excited because he’d eaten there and couldn’t wait for us to open up.”

Neither will have to wait much longer. Schweitzer is the St. Louis area’s franchisee for the Gateway City’s newest addition to the burger scene. Smashburger, a Denver-based fast food chain, is set to introduce its cuisine to the area July 20 with the grand opening of the St. Charles location, the first in Missouri.

With more than 100 stores in 21 states from California to New York, the chain, founded in 2007, has been expanding at a breakneck pace, said Schweitzer. Schweitzer's previous franchise experience includes a series of Subway sandwich shops in the Metro East. Smashburger units already exist in Kansas City, KS and Chicago. Schweitzer said construction is expected to start soon on a Chesterfield location that could open by this fall. As many as a dozen locations are planned in the area within a few years.

“They’re popping up everywhere,” he said. “I think they expect in the next several years to have over 500 stores, so it’s a pretty good growth situation for them.”

Smashburger was named a Hot Concepts! award-winner in 2009 by Nation’s Restaurant News, and this year it was lauded with the International Council of Shopping Centers Hot Retailer Award.

But Schweitzer said the decision to become the local franchisee was an easy one after simply sampling the food.

“It’s a better burger,” he said. “The difference is in the products we have.”

Those products will include Angus beef hamburgers, an assortment of chicken sandwiches, salads and hot dogs. Standard toppings include cheese, bacon and onions. There are also more unusual add-ons such as fried eggs, guacamole or avocados. A variety of sauces will also be offered for the burgers, which will be served on the diner’s choice of four different bun types--pretzel, egg, chipotle or multigrain.

Side order choices range from sea salt-seasoned french fries to “Smashfries” which are mixed with olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Less traditional options such as fried pickles, sweet potato fries, or “Veggie Frites,” flash-fried asparagus, carrots and green beans, are also on the menu.

Not that customers won’t have hometown flavor as well. Like other territories in the chain, this region will localize its menu with specialty items, including a burger topped with the city’s signature provel cheese and another available with Maull’s barbecue sauce.

There’s also another special cold, creamy sensation awaiting patrons.

“They are like mad scientists in Denver,” Schweitzer said. “They are always trying new things, so they sent away for some St. Louis gooey butter cake. They mixed it with Häagen-Dazs ice cream and came up with this shake, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s pretty decadent.”

According to a release from the company, burgers start at about $5 with total checks running around $8 for a meal.

In another departure from the usual fast food fare, a selection of beers will also be available.

Renovations are already underway as Schweitzer prepares to set up shop in a 2,500 square-foot end-cap location in the -anchored Bogey Hills Plaza. The space previously housed a Quizno’s.

“We thought there weren’t a lot of burger places out in St. Charles yet so we thought it might be a good place for us to build first,” he said.

But Schweitzer said that from the initial reaction, he thinks the establishment could draw well from different parts of the area.

“One thing that has been kind of funny is that there have been so many people that have come up to me that have already eaten at a Smashburger in a different part of the country,” he said, “And they are really excited about us coming to town, so I think we’ll have people driving in from all over the place to try us out.”