Smashed ground beef is proving to be a winning concept for Denver-based Smashburger.
With 143 locations opened nationwide since its inception in 2007, Smashburger is one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the U.S.
Commitments from newly signed franchisees will bring the store total to 450 by 2014.
But that number is small fries to Smashburger chief executive Dave Prokupek, who said the business “easily” could reach 2,000 to 3,000 outlets in the next 20 years.
“No one has ever really grown this fast in the first five years,” he said during a recent lunchtime interview at the Tabor Center Smashburger, gripping a napkin in one hand and in the other a grilled chicken sandwich with goat cheese and spinach.