Smashers Burgers & Fries in Norfolk started with big ideas from a small-town teenager.
Henry Smith, 21, considers himself a numbers person and has always loved math. Those skills came in handy when he decided to start a business.
The fifth-generation Cape Charles resident opened a food truck his senior year, even catering his high school graduation.
“I just got hyper-focused on perfecting every finite detail and then showing it off to friends and family and watching them like something that I created,” he says.
For three summers, he served up burgers and fries, hiring his buddies to help out.
"I had no idea when he started the food truck it would be anything more than just a food truck on the beach," his mom Christy Smith shared. "[He had the] best summer of his life his buddies. Not only did they make money, they had a great time."
But could he turn that great time into a sustainable business?
“My parents still wanted me to go to college but I looked them in the eye and said, 'You're wasting my time and your money by sending me there,'” said Henry.
His parents saw how determined he was to make burgers a business and threw their support behind him, loaning him $40,000 in seed money. That bloomed into a brick-and-mortar business that opened last year near the Premium Outlets in Norfolk. And he’s killing it.
“We double projected sales what I thought going into it. This is a phenomenal location and we’ve learned a lot,” Henry says.
And in a sea of competition, he’s managing to bring people in the door.
"I would say what separates us from other burger joints and restaurants is our relentless obsession and curiosity with focusing on the very finite details in a burger and a french fry," he says.
He also credits social media with getting the word out. His off-the-wall skits and antics online have garnered him more than 100,000 followers on several platforms.
“I kept scrolling and laughing and after my hundredth scroll, we pulled up in the middle of the work day, got a burger, hot dog, fries, shake and everything is good,” said Isaiah Best, a customer.
Henry Smith and his business is a smashing success and positively Hampton Roads.
