When you hear the name Sweet Sugar High, you might expect cupcakes or candy, not some of the most crave-worthy burgers in the city.
The name may spark a bit of confusion, but for Fort Worth husband-and-wife owners Catherine and Juan Fernandez, that name is their baby —a reminder of the years of resilience and reinvention that have carried them to where they are today.
That journey has paid off in full: In last month’s Fort Worth Magazine “Best Of issue, the Sweet Sugar High Craft Burgers Co. food truck was crowned by readers as Best Burger Joint and Best Food Truck, solidifying their place among the city’s culinary favorites.
Catherine says the name Sweet Sugar High was never meant for burgers. Back in 2018, Juan had registered it for a very different — and perhaps more appropriate — business: a CBD café inspired by his time at the DFW Academy of Cannabis Science in Dallas. He says he envisioned a cozy community hangout serving calming teas, infused coffees, and scratch-made desserts — his version of comfort food.
But life took him in other directions, and the café never materialized, and the name sat on hold — until 2020 came along.
Like so many families during the pandemic, Catherine and Juan faced job loss and uncertainty. Juan lost his gig working at Pinstripes, and shortly thereafter, the couple had their youngest child, their fifth.
Fear has a funny way of making some people want to fly headfirst into the direction of it, and instead of bracing for the worst, the couple daringly took on COVID, launching a food concept while others in the food and bev business were dropping like flies.
By October 2020, Sweet Sugar High was reborn as a pop-up venture serving Fort Worth’s favorite cuisine: barbecue.
“We leaned on what we knew best — comforting flavors and Southern hospitality,” Catherine says. “Our combined influences shaped our original menu, which featured Southern barbecue — smoked meats, scratch-made sides, Southern desserts.”
Later that year, eager to experiment and expand their menu, they added a menu item whose popularity had yet to explode: smash burgers. Not just any smashburgers, mind you, but smashburgers made with the supremely rich wagyu beef. “Within months,” Catherine says, “they completely took off.”
Juan, who handles most of the cooking for the couple’s endeavor, says his love of food was shaped early on by his mother, Bicenta, and aunt, Esther, who sold homemade gorditas, tortillas, and tamales from their kitchens. Catherine brought her own family legacy to the mix: For years, her father, Mike Forrester, and grandfather, George Forrester, ran George’s Pit BBQ in Granbury.
November 10, 2025
10:15 AM