Smashburger opens in Marlton; more planned
Now open in Marlton and Malvern is on the way.
After slowing down a bit in this region over the last year, the "better burger" category appears to be ready to make a move.
In the meantime, Tuesday, Sept. 22 marks the opening of the region's fifth Smashburger franchise location, taking space in a redone strip mall near Burns Hyundai just west of the Marlton Circle (746 W. Route 70, Marlton). And Oct. 19 will mark the opening of the sixth Smashburger, joining the Wegmans and Target near Vanguard HQ in Malvern.
Dan O'Shaughnessy, who owns the region's Smashburger rights with Kevin Murphy and Dan Hill, says they have three or perhaps four more locations teed up for 2016 - in the Allentown area as well as Chester County and Delaware County. They're looking down the road at Philadelphia, but "we want the lower-hanging fruit in the suburbs first," said O'Shaughnessy.
O'Shaughnessy, who is partial to Smashburger's barbecue bacon cheddar burger, thinks there's room for three or four companies in the better-burger segment, which also includes Bobby's Burger Palace and Shake Shack.
Grub Burger Bar has been on the way up, opening restaurants in Wilmington, near Willow Grove Park mall, and in Montgomery Mall. Burger 21 has been talking about more locations, beyond its one shop in Voorhees. SpOt Burgers is planning to trade its truck for a Brewerytown location, in late October or early November.
At the same time, BurgerMonster in Willow Grove Park went out.