Smacking Burger
A Viral Smashburger Sold at Lower Manhattan’s Only Operating Gas Station…and It Is More
By Lotus Belle-Glover (@lbgeats)
A SMACKING BURGER, part of a simple menu with unique elements. Photo by Lotus Belle-Glover.
Midway through my visit to Smacking Burger, Elizabeth Torres sends the man behind the register across the street to “the store with the green awning,” where an employee has requested a burger. Smacking only takes in-person orders, Torres explains when he called, the phone balanced between her ear and shoulder as she packs paper bags. So instead, she sends someone to physically take his order. This is the type of establishment that Smacking Burger strives to be. As much as it is inevitably a place to serve those who follow TikTok trends, it is just as much to serve those who work in the neighborhood. It is one of the rare spots that seamlessly bridges the gap between the trendy and the local.
Smacking Burger is not the first smashburger in the West Village, and it likely will not be the last; yet it is the only one run out of an operating gas station. It was opened mid-April by Torres and her boyfriend Tommy Hondros, owner of Mobil: Smacking’s home and the last remaining station in lower Manhattan. The couple, along with two chefs, facilitate the burger flipping operation out of a small kitchen in the corner of the station. They prepare, smash, fry and assemble the nine menu items on two counters and one grill.
Though new to the Village, Smacking Burger was years in the making. Prior to offering burgers and fries, it was popular as a stand that sold snacks from around the world. But Torres, whose family has owned and operated restaurants for generations, had aspirations to offer cooked food. While the West Village is a known food hub, it is not due to its affordability or accessibility. Torres recognized this and wanted to make a place “for those who worked in the area”—a restaurant for those who work at restaurants, so to speak. As such, their most expensive menu item is $11.99. You can also get a $5.50 burger or $2.99 fries. Drinks, including soft drinks, seltzers and beer, can be purchased from the refrigerators at gas station prices. Since they already owned the space, the concept was doable; it was the permitting that took ages, according to Torres.
While the menu is simple, it has unique elements, a mix that was intentional as per Torres’ creation. There are five burgers—ranging from a single patty cheeseburger to a double-double style with bacon, all Oklahoma style with caramelized onion—fries or loaded fries, a salad, and a burger for dogs. Despite capitalizing off of the smashburger’s recent momentum, Smacking deviates from the traditional recipe, smashing the patty only 75% of the way to retain sufficient moisture. And, in addition to traditional ketchup and chipotle mayo, Torres layers on a chimichurri sauce that she prepares daily. A recent newcomer to the menu is a Truff burger, which introduces a truffle mayo. I am impressed when Torres tells me that, despite the small space, all sauces, except for mayo and ketchup, are prepared in-house.
When I inquire about their goals, Torres speaks of an expansion to Brooklyn, where Hondros’ family is from, and Miami, where hers live. She speaks of partnerships, including one for the breakfast menu scheduled to debut in the coming months. But mostly, she speaks of further serving the local community, whose initial positive reception often keeps them working late into the night.
It is truly a place of community gathering; I stop by on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and in my brief time at the station, I witness those stopping in to grab grub to-go and those settling in with a beer to watch the Knicks lose on the three big-screens (with speakers). People congregate around the only seating: two picnic tables outside overlooking the gas pumps. I see Hondros and Torres greet locals, regulars, and tourists. “He eats eight burgers a day,” jokes Hondros about one of the customers. He’s joking (I think); but after sampling the menu, I can almost see why.
