{"id":392570,"date":"2026-07-30T21:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/392570\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T21:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:33:11","slug":"3-dallas-smash-burger-spots-leaning-into-retro-nostalgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/392570\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Dallas smash burger spots leaning into retro nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes a good smash burger<\/a>? Crispy, pressed beef patties; melted American cheese and well-caramelized onions are obvious factors to consider, but some of DFW\u2019s top concepts are also heavily banking on old-school jukeboxes and vinyl booths to create an experience that warrants nostalgia.<\/p>\n

Smash burgers have experienced a rapid surge<\/a> in popularity in North Texas and across the country. More and more new concepts are bucking the thick, brioche-sandwiched burgers that dominated the 2010s for the trendy style, with many recent additions choosing to serve their product in spaces that feel like a time-warped 1950s luncheonette<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The style isn\u2019t just a new fad, despite its resurgence in popularity. Stretching ground beef by pressing it onto a griddle with a generous helping of onions was a way for food counters to save money during the Depression<\/a>, while smash burgers have traditionally enjoyed popularity in Oklahoma and other parts of the U.S. And with them lurching back into the culinary mainstream in the Lone Star State, it\u2019s only natural that the resurgence takes on a timeless look, down to the checker board wrappers the burgers are served in.<\/p>\n

Neon, vintage memorabilia, wooden accents and yellow paint are all good indicators you\u2019re in one of these up-and-coming spots. They all lean into a classic feel, though it\u2019s not copy-and-paste \u2014 the inspirations and execution behind the concepts reflect the owners who envisioned them.<\/p>\n

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So, what does a retro build-out have to do with a good smash burger? We spoke with three business owners to find out why the style seems inextricably tied to themes of decades past.<\/p>\n

Patty Lou\u2019s Smashburgers | Downtown Plano
\n\"PattyBonnie says she can remember her mother using the guitar, but didn\u2019t talk much about her musical past otherwise.<\/p>\n

Patty Lou\u2019s, made its debut a few weeks ago in downtown Plano. It\u2019s owned by Nathan and Bonnie Shea, who also own Urban Crust<\/a>, Urbano Cafe and Urban Seafood, all of which are located in a one-block radius of each other.<\/p>\n

Their smash burgers are decidedly on the larger side and come on a soft potato bun that lets the crispy combination of onions, cheese, pickles, house sauce, and grill-pressed ground beef inside speak for itself. There\u2019s the Patty Lou Smashburger, which follows the standard recipe, and the Texas Sweetheart, which comes loaded with jalape\u00f1o radish. Both are odes to Bonnie\u2019s family history.<\/p>\n

The Patty Lou\u2019s space housed a Starbucks up until last year. When it closed, the Sheas used the opportunity to realize a concept they\u2019ve been envisioning for a while. That\u2019s also where the name comes in. They chose to name it after Bonnie\u2019s mother, Patty Lou Peters, a Western Swing performer who toured around the country in the 1940s and 1950s. Her name is also well-suited to a concept trying to make a name for its patties, which are made from wagyu beef produced at its ranch just north of Denton.<\/p>\n

Bonnie explains that her mother had stopped performing before she was born and was not very forthcoming with details of her musical exploits. So, after years of research to fill in the gaps and her decision to open a smash burger spot with her son-in-law\u2019s recipe, it was only natural to combine the two, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done research probably 20 of the last 24 years, literally newspapers.com and finding things because we never knew the history of what all she actually did, and so I had been putting that together,\u201d Bonnie says. \u201cIt was just an evolution of, \u2018Well, let\u2019s do this inside the actual restaurant.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Their team designed Patty Lou\u2019s as a hybrid museum-throwback burger counter with Western themes to reflect the singer\u2019s career. A display case stands in the entrance and gives customers a chance to look over sheet music, photos and an accordion used in her mother\u2019s time touring with Patty Lou\u2019s and Her Texas Sweethearts. There\u2019s also an original amp, but the main draw is her performance guitar on display at the front.<\/p>\n

\"PattyThe mural above the county nods to Longhorn Ballroom, where Bonnie\u2019s parents met during a performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe comments we\u2019ve gotten are this is one of the coolest spaces we\u2019ve seen. It\u2019s amazing,\u201d Nathan says. \u201cIt\u2019s small, but even the old school lights, everything about it. I think it\u2019s got a fun feel too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above the counter, there\u2019s a mural painted by a local artist using motifs from Patty Lou\u2019s career, including Route 66 and Longhorn Ballroom. Around it, old photos, dark woodwork and a jukebox create a Western-tinged throwback feel Bonnie says families can enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little more upscale than a classic diner,\u201d she says. \u201cExperience is really where we have the passion too. We want it to be an experience for everybody in this area. We love it because generations come together here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burger Schmurger | Old Lake Highlands
\n\"\"Who\u2019s up for a game of pool after a Schmurger?<\/p>\n

After operating nomadically for years with a presence at the now-closed High Fives on Henderson, Burger Schmurger finally landed a brick-and-mortar location<\/a> in Old Lake Highlands last year. The concept launched as a backyard pop-up in 2020, and owner Dave Culwell was one of North Texas\u2019s early adopters of smash burgers.<\/p>\n

The brand has gained acclaim and awards over the past six years, largely due to the quality of its \u201cSchmurger,\u201d which comes with housemade sauce and pickles. While the Schmurger is the classic, he also spices things up with smoked bacon jam and an uncommon cheese choice in provolone for the \u2018Maverick.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an easy burger to eat, and it\u2019s not a half pound of meat to make it like that,\u201d Culwell says. \u201cI think it lends itself to the decor of a diner, or retro-style diner that kind of plays into like the old tiny greasy spoon restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n

His space leans heavily into the classic diner look, with yellow leather booths, mid-century seats and neon accents opening a portal to the \u201970s off Buckner Road. A wall in the back hosts dozens of framed portraits of supporters, friends and family, including Culwell\u2019s grandmother, who was a significant part of his childhood and is credited with creating Burger Schmurger\u2019s ice box cake. The checkered mustard tile floor gives a sense of sitting in her kitchen, which Culwell describes as his \u201cculinary school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur whole restaurant is like wood panels, kind of like houses from back in the \u201970s and \u201980s,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd my grandmother, a lot of people\u2019s grandmothers, have all their family pictures either going down the hallway or dead or something like that. They\u2019re all family pictures from me and my family, my partners\u2019 families, and then a lot of the people who were instrumental in the development of Burger Schmurger\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of cool. It\u2019s real special, real personal.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why retro spaces lend themselves so well to a concept like his, he says it all comes back to familiarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s classic,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I think there is a comfort to it. We have people who come in celebrating their happiest moments, and we have people that come in that just went through a breakup, or losing their job. It\u2019s a place where they come for comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herby\u2019s Burgers | Elmwood<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Herby\u2019s Burgers in Oak Cliff\u2019s Elmwood neighborhood is the oldest brick-and-mortar of the three<\/a>. Since the debut in 2023, it\u2019s been owned by Will Rhoten (a.k.a. DJ Sober), Jake Saenz and Elijah Salazar.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a crispier edge on a smash burger in Dallas, let us know. Herby\u2019s specializes in textbook, no-frills burgers<\/a> teaming with grilled onions and a healthy helping of cheese, although you can add mac sauce if you\u2019re needing some extra carbs.<\/p>\n

As an owner who jumped on the trend early, Rhoten says the propensity of smash burger proprietors to lean into sentimentality may correspond with their age.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a majority of the people opening Smash Burger spots are possibly like around my age, and maybe it\u2019s just like because we grew up in an era where there was a lot of things still lingering from the \u201970s and then the \u201980s,\u201d he says. \u201cI think if you\u2019re close in age to me or you\u2019re Gen X, you live through multiple decades, and kind of seeing those things get phased out, and I think everything comes back full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside of Herby\u2019s, Rhoten and his co-owners have created a kitschy callback to burger joints of old. The space is floored in pastel-blue checkerboard tile and comes equipped with laminate diner booths, hand-painted signs and an antique jukebox. Behind an ordering counter, tots and grilled cheese are advertised with marquee letters on a classic Coca-Cola menu board.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost looks like a TV set of like an old school burger joint because like it\u2019s clean, but also that you have the nostalgia there,\u201d Rhoten says. \u201cIt does have a throwback feel, but also has a little bit of my own twist to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also sitting behind the counter is a mini disco ball, a Big Boy statuette and a host of other throwbacks sitting atop a case of VHS tapes. Rhoten\u2019s interior inspiration comes from film, he says, adding that, like a great concept, movies stick in memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always like gravitate towards movies that were filmed in the \u201970s and \u201980s,\u201d he says. \u201cEven before this, I watched a lot of stuff that had restaurant scenes or little diners, or whatever. Just taking things from my past and memories. Nowadays I feel like every spot\u2019s just like a modern \u2018box,\u2019 and I don\u2019t think like any kid is gonna remember that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Will Rhoten poses in front of his burger joint, Herby\u2019s, with his dog, also called Herby,<\/p>\n

His joint takes on a decidedly old-time feel even before passing through the doors. Out front, yellow accents and a Mad Men-esque cartoon depiction of his dog, Herby, set the vibe for visitors. Rhoten wants people to remember that sign and his product, which might point to why owners are leaning into the past. Smash burgers have been part of America\u2019s collective culinary story for decades, and now, these owners want the next generation to make greasy memories of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I hope that someday a young kid remembers being in the back seat of their parents or grandparents and driving down Edgefield and be like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s the sign with the dog on it.\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cEven maybe before they could read, it\u2019s just that iconic thing that stuck in their memory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What makes a good smash burger? Crispy, pressed beef patties; melted American cheese and well-caramelized onions are obvious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1805,102,104,103],"class_list":["post-392570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-burgers","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}