In the summer of 2019, Eleni Papadaki borrowed a griddle, a folding table and her cousin's extension cord, and sold smash burgers at a street party in Psyrri. She ran out of beef in six hours. Someone offered her €40 for the griddle.
She kept the griddle. Seven years later we have eight kitchens, a fry whisperer, and the same rule we started with: smash it fresh, serve it hot, and never let it sit under a heat lamp.
- #1
Smash it fresh
Beef is ground every morning and never sees a freezer. If it was not smashed in the last three minutes, it does not leave the kitchen.
- #2
Pay people properly
Well above minimum wage from day one, private health cover and a free meal every shift. Happy crews cook better burgers.
- #3
Waste less
Fry oil becomes biodiesel, bread ends become croutons for staff meals and every cup is compostable.
- #4
Be loud, be kind
Turn the music up, say hi to everyone and always give the kid at the counter an extra pickle.
Seven years of smashing, measured in degrees, hours, tonnes and pickles.
- 1,000,000
Burgers smashed
Since a borrowed griddle in Psyrri. Number one million landed in Thessaloniki.
- 230°C
Plancha heat
Any lower and the beef steams. Every grill gets checked twice a day.
- 48h
In the pickle brine
Dill, garlic and mustard seed. Two days is the sweet spot for the snap.
- 400t
Potatoes hand-cut
Dimitra can tell a good batch by the sound it makes hitting the oil.
- 8
Kitchens
From Kavala to Heraklion, all smashing to the same rule.
- 31%
Ask for extra pickles
So we quietly made extra the default. You are welcome.
How we got here
- 2019
The folding table
A borrowed griddle at a summer street party in Psyrri. 400 burgers in six hours, then the beef ran out.
- 2020
First kitchen
Karaiskaki Street, Psyrri. Twelve seats, one plancha and a line round the block most nights.
- 2021
Chicken joins the party
The Crunch Lord lands on the menu after 61 test batches of buttermilk brine.
- 2022
Thessaloniki & Patras
Two new kitchens open. Dimitra builds the potato programme that still runs every site.
- 2023
The app drops
Order-ahead goes live. 100,000 downloads in the first month, mostly for the free fries.
- 2024
Late nights
Doors open until 3am at weekends. First drive-thru opens in Heraklion, Crete.
- 2025
One million smashes
Burger number one million hits the plancha in Thessaloniki at 21:42 on a Thursday.
- 2026
Eight kitchens, one rule
Smash it fresh. Still the only rule that matters.