In the Burger Olympics, the “smash” has now ascended to the highest step on the podium. Even though the origin story goes back a century or so, they taste contemporary and au courant. They are a culinary step forward that can complement other trending items such as iced matcha drinks, boba teas or even regular old milkshakes. Juan Nuñez, the proprietor of Richmond’s The Burger Spot Co., said the most popular item on the menu is their double burger ($14.55). Each one, the website notes, is cooked to order “on a screaming-hot flat top.”
“The reason why I like smash burgers is because it is almost well done, but it’s still really juicy,” Nuñez said. “They’re not dried out hockey pucks.” Each one comes with the “Boss Sauce,” lettuce, tomatoes and caramelized onions. But customers can add or subtract ingredients in any way they desire. Cooking smash burgers takes less time than an old-fashioned patty. “With the way we get them down, thin enough, they cook pretty quick,” he said. “Then it gets a little crisp edge on both sides where it gives that little different flavor than just a thicker, puck-style, frozen patty.”
Nuñez tried one for the first time a few years ago. “Some places do them different, really thin, I mean paper-thin where it gets crispy almost like a chip,” he said. “I wasn’t too much into that style so ours has a thickness to it, but still able to get that crust, that crisp edge on both sides.”
The Burger Spot Co. opened in the fall of 2025 originally as Tommy’s Burger Co. The chef and pitmaster, Tommy Ryan, recently left the partnership with Nuñez to concentrate on Tommy’s Barbecue, his primary restaurant in Hercules. Nuñez has been a local business owner in the neighborhood for nearly three decades. Nuñez Tattoo is a five-minute walk down the street from The Burger Spot Co., his fourth restaurant.
Nuñez’s point of entry in the hospitality industry is as a contractor. “The electrical; the plumbing part of it. All the planning and building and then the branding,” he said. “We’re not trying to get the most extravagant, luxurious places—but the most affordable to be able to try to turn a profit sooner.” He believes that most restaurateurs spend too much money during the opening phase. “Then they fail because they overspent when they expected to have more income coming in,” he said.
Richmond does have other burger joints, but Nuñez wanted to provide locals with a healthier version. “I feel like I eat at these fast-food chains and I get sick after I eat, and I know it’s the oil of the fries and the meats they’re allowing,” he said. “I remember as a kid burgers and fries used to taste different. I guess they call it gourmet now, when gourmet used to be just cooking with good-quality stuff. And that’s what I wanted to try to bring back.”
Although Nuñez knows his way around a kitchen, his son Juan Daniel Nuñez runs The Burger Spot Co. with several of his fellow classmates who graduated from The Culinary Academy at Contra Costa College. “I leave that part up to them,” Nuñez said. “I’m giving them free range to come up with concepts like our house burger sauce.” They’ve just come up with a new one. Behind the restaurant, Nuñez built a grill to make chicken and ribs.
The Burger Spot Co. sources its beef from wholesale meat companies. “This is a higher-grade meat, using the brisket, Angus beef or a chuck blend,” he said. They started out grinding the meat, but as the restaurant got busier the meat companies have been making the blends. The menu specifies that an order of fries ($4.55) is “hand-cut fries fried in pure beef tallow—crispy, rich, unforgettable.” The flavor of beef tallow, Nuñez said, is better than that of oil, though they do offer a canola oil blend for vegetarians. And the brioche buns are locally baked in Richmond.
Vegetarians can also order an Impossible smash burger ($13.55). “We have a fried-chicken sandwich and a grilled-chicken sandwich,” he said. “Our fried-chicken sandwich—we’re thinking about changing it up because we cut and tenderize and batter them every morning, so it’s a big process.”
The Burger Spot Co., 12560 San Pablo Ave., Richmond. Open Tue-Thu and Sun, 11am to 9pm; Fri 11am to 10pm; Sat 9am to 10pm. theburgerspotco.com
