[2] Founded in 2007 by Rick Schaden and Tom Ryan, the chain serves "smashed" burgers using a specialized process of cooking them on a flattop grill at a high heat.

[9] With David Prokupek as CEO and Ryan focusing on developing the menu, the restaurant was designed with quick scalability in mind.

The first Smashburger restaurant opened in Denver in June 2007,[12] and the chain then expanded to Houston, and then to Minneapolis, areas where Ryan and other founding management were familiar with the local real estate market.

The restaurant identified 14 distinct customer archetypes to pursue based on income levels, geography, education and lifestyle.

[16] While it initially relied heavily on social media to build its brand, the company started television and radio advertising in 2013 with Denver-based Definite Productions as a marketing manager.

That year it announced plans to open new locations around airports in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain through franchises.

[9] That year, the company announced a franchise agreement with Pearl Investments LLC to open 26 new locations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

This capital, in addition to the revenue generated by business operations, was thought to support two or three years worth of expansion by the chain.

[26] Its CEO said the decision to sell would mean more stable long-term growth as opposed to relying on the stock market, which could be unpredictable.

[27] Following this, Smashburger began additional advertising, renegotiated leases for some of its restaurants and launched a subscription-based rewards program platform called Smash Pass in order to increase customer traffic.

[6] Crane left as CEO in April 2016, and was replaced by Mike Nolan, but he resigned nine months later and Ryan took over the role.

The restaurant thus condensed its expansion strategy to focus on existing markets and began mentorship programs to develop leadership talent from within its ranks of workers.

Restaurants are designed with specific decor, a prominently bright red color scheme, and customer flow.

[43][15] Restaurant interiors are designed in a modern style with indirect lighting and decorated with locally produced photo murals.

An internal team designed and built the initial soundtracks around the restaurant's "Smash, sizzle, savor" theme.

As Smashburger began to grow, management brought in outside consultants in 2011 to develop a new program for music that would better fit a "modern, high-energy" restaurant concept, although it retains a family-friendly vibe.

[43] The company also has employee incentives for stores it owns directly which it credits with boosting morale, including paying $9 an hour in 2011, above the then-minimum wage of $7.25.

Cooks are awarded extra money for filling orders in under six minutes, while managers are given bonuses for meeting monthly revenue goals and gaining positive customer reviews.

[19] In 2017 the chain was named the number 9 favorite burger restaurant brand in America by The Harris Poll’s annual EquiTrend Study.

[44] Many of the sandwiches are topped with an in-house "smash sauce" made with mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and lemon juice.

[48] The restaurant's burgers are created using chopped Angus beef chuck steak cut into thin slices.

[5][9] It also markets its meat as "fresh, never frozen" and the beef is transported in 10-pound (4.5 kg) portions from distribution sites to restaurants each morning.

The burger meatball contains a bouillon-like flavoring and it is also seasoned with a proprietary blend that includes kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic, shortly before cooking.

[9] Burgers are produced in a made-to-order format,[9] with Smashburger's smashing technique achieved by placing the meatball on a griddle heated to 385 °F (196 °C) and pressing it hard using a special tool for 10 seconds to flatten it.

[9] In order to avoid the stigma of a restaurant chain, Smashburger crafts local burgers for each city where it is located and markets them extensively.

In this program, each burger on Smashburger's menu is paired with a specific beer from the brewer, which is then sold in restaurant locations in that area.