Smack N' Burgers a new age burger scene with old-school charm
At Market Street Smack N' Burgers, everything revolves around the fusion of the old school and the new school.
According to the husband and wife duo who own the joint, Kevin Le and Amanda Meuy (pronounced May), their Smack N' burgers — most of which come with a crispy smashed patty, American cheese, their signature Smack N' Sauce and all the traditional veggie fixings on a potato bun — were designed to be a combination of the simplified smash burger that took the world by storm over the last decade, and the classic veggie-stacked burger.
But whereas the old-school style involved "frozen pucks you throw on (a grill)," Le said, Smack N' Burgers prides themselves on their fresh, never frozen, angus beef and vegetables prepped for service daily.
"Nothing's sitting for two or three days or whatever it is. It's that day," said Le.
The historied building that houses Smack N' Burgers has also been imbued with a modern touch.
Located on 3443 South Market Street, the building has long been the home of old-school burger spots. Most will remember it as Pop's 50's Place , but before that it was an A&W Root Beer drive-in in 1960s and '70s, and later it was a hamburger restaurant called Feisty's.
Following the fire that closed Pop's down in 2023, Le and Meuy bought the place in 2024 and completed extensive renovations — a process that Le described as "stressful."
Today, it maintains a certain vintage charm with a simple blue and white color scheme, a window for quick to-go ordering and booth seating indoors. However, it has a clean, modern interior resembling the kind of new age restaurant you might see in a city like Los Angeles.
The name, Smack N' Burgers, is a catchy encapsulation of the smash burger-making process — smacking a rolled ball of beef on the grill and smashing it as thin as it can get.
Meuy said the goal in opening Smack N' Burgers was to deliver a "welcoming old-school neighborhood experience" where friends and family could gather. In the two short months since it opened, they've already won the loyalty of some regular customers.
"It's nice to recognize faces because — it means something when you have a customer come and experience it for the first time — what's more meaningful is for them to come back again, and hearing that they brought friends or even referred us out to other people," said Meuy.
"We want everybody just to give us one try. The ones that have tried come back, some of them come back three or four times a week," said Le.
Smack N' Burgers is hosting a grand opening on Oct. 10, promising classic cars, a balloon artist for kids and hourly giveaways.
What's on the menu?
Simplicity was Smack N' Burgers' M.O. when cooking up the menu.
"Me and my wife, we just focus on simplicity, which brings quality," said Le.
They serve four different burgers including a single patty smash burger, a smash burger with bacon, a double smash burger, and the Smack N' Western — a single patty smash burger with bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings.
The Smack N' Western is the only burger that comes without veggies.
Smack N' Burgers also offers their own take on loaded fries called Smack N' Fries. They're topped with cheese, bacon, beef, grilled onions and a concoction which took the couple six months to perfect, their signature Smack N' Sauce.
The recipe is a closely guarded secret, but the two described the sauce as tasting creamy, tangy, bold, and savory.
For first time customers, Muey recommends ordering the Smack N' Single to "actually taste the beef and our Smack N' Sauce." She also recommended the Smack N' Fries.
For sides, Smack N' Burgers offers crispy, battered fries, tater tots and onion rings which can be dipped in Smack N' Sauce, BBQ sauce, or their house-made buttermilk ranch.
Beverage options include fountain drinks, regular or flavored lemonades, and blue raspberry- or cherry-flavored slushies.
Le said his go-to order is a Smack N' Western with lettuce and tomato added, onion rings on the side with ranch, and a Pepsi.
Meuy said her go-to order is a Smack N' Bacon, onion rings on the side with Smack N' Sauce, and a Pepsi Zero.
Le and Meuy's long journey to opening Smack N' Burgers
Le and Meuy have lived in Redding for years now. Meuy was born and raised here, and Le moved here about 15 years ago, but Smack N' Burgers is the couple's first venture into the restaurant industry in town.
Prior to Smack N' Burgers, Le's first job was at an old-school burger place called Jasper's in Sacramento, and some years ago, the two opened a sushi and poke restaurant in the Sacramento area. But after COVID hit, "things didn't work out," said Le.
Fast forward to 2024, the two would pass the vacant, fire and smoke damaged Pop's 50's Diner while driving their kids to school and became interested in turning the place around.
"Me and Kevin always wanted to get into owning a business together ... We ventured out into different businesses but whatever it was always led us back to 'What about a burger joint?'" said Meuy.
After all, according to Le, ever since working at Jasper's it had been his dream to open his own burger joint.
So they took the plunge, but renovations ended up being a bit more than they'd bargained for.
It took two years to bring the building up to code to pass inspection, leaving little time for the couple to think about their vision for the business.
"A day in the life prior to renovating was a nightmare. I feel like we would look at each other and be like 'What did we get ourselves into?'" said Meuy.
"It was stressful. The struggle was real ... balancing life, and home life, and here," said Le.
After passing the inspection, the couple took another four months to get the business in line, finally opening on July 27.
"Now that we've been open, we come in and we're just like, 'Wow, what did we build? This is amazing.'" said Meuy.
If you go: Market Street Smack N' Burgers
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Restaurant hours:10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sundays.
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Address:3443 South Market St. in Redding
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Restaurant phone:530-215-3542
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Instagram: @marketstreetsmacknburgers
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Cost: Smack N' Single $8.99. Smack N' Bacon $11.99. Smack N' Double $12.99. Smack N' Western $13.49. Smack N' Fries $11.99. Fries (side) $3.99. Tater tots $4.49. Onion rings (side) $4.49. Fountain drink $3.99. Lemonade $4.49. Slushie $4.49.
Drew Askeland covers Redding and Shasta County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Record Searchlight and USA Today Network. Reach him at drew.askeland@redding.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom's commitment to public service journalism .
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Smack N' Burgers a new age burger scene with old-school charm
