On Sept. 1, 2021, popular food pop-up Pubfare announced on Instagram that it was “taking a break” from slinging its savory smash burgers around the Lowcountry. That was when Jeremy Reynolds knew what he had to do.
“There’s this fun subculture that I found out about when I discovered a local pop-up burger joint,” Reynolds said. “I went to Westbrook Brewery one night, and Pubfare happened to be set up there. And that was the best burger I’ve ever had in my entire life.
“I was so jealous. They had a tent, flat-top grill, and it was just a simple process. And I was like, ‘One day, if they ever decide they want to hang it up or something ever happens, I’d love to step in and do that, fill that spot.’ ”
So when Pubfare announced its break, Reynolds fulfilled that promise to himself. “I thought, ‘OK, I want to do this, and I want to fill that void, but I don’t want to screw it up,’” he said. Thinking launching a pop-up would be an easy process, though, he found out there’s more to smash burgers than just, well, smashing burgers. He spent every day for six weeks: “racking up almost $3,000 at Costco,” “being too critical” and “trying to find the best beef combination and cooking technique for a tasty burger.”
And on Nov. 7, 2021, Reynolds launched Smash City Burgers, setting up his own tent and flat-top grill at SNAFU Brewing Company.
Since then, Reynolds has also popped up at Brickyard Plantation, Two Blokes Brewing, Westbrook and more neighborhoods and breweries around the city. In March, he purchased Flight Food Truck’s trailer and officially took his updated Smash City Burgers on the road in mid-April.
Despite thinking to himself, “I don’t know if I could eat another hamburger again,” he did the exact opposite.
As City Paper’s Best Of voting was underway, Reynolds felt there were a lot of burgers missing from the nominees list and that there were more “best” burgers the city had to offer. On March 30, Reynolds announced on Instagram something few have publicly dared: He would eat 30 burgers in 30 days.
“Everyone knows Home Team, everyone knows Moe’s Crosstown,” he said. “It’s not that they don’t deserve recognition. They absolutely do. But I wanted to see everything else in Charleston.”
What started out as a simple “let’s try to find the best burger in town” transformed into something more meaningful. As his cholesterol spiked, the quest became less about the burger itself and more about the overall experience and connection with the community.
Reynolds explained that as the weeks went on, it wasn’t about either the baseline burger or something “off the reservation,” but about “how each burger is set up for that establishment.”
“It turned into not just the program, but how’s the area?” He said. “How was the staff when you walked in? What does this place mean to Charleston?”
He called Gillie’s Seafood on James Island a standout experience: “It’s a seafood joint that also sells burgers,” he said. “These two ladies at Gillie’s just ran their tails off … so I’m like, ‘OK, let’s talk about the burger because that’s what this is, but let’s thank them for what they do, because there’s no way in hell I could do the job they do.’”
Reynolds admits he’s no food connoisseur, limiting his food criticism experience to Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” But while the burgers did run together after sometime, he added, the subtle notes in each one stuck out: “I taste some more pepper here; I taste some cloves; There’s something here that I’m not familiar with.”
FOOD on Spruill, he said, was something completely different. The Cincinnati-based food joint pleasantly surprised his taste buds, even though as a Southerner, Reynolds found some ingredients bordered on “blasphemy.” “The chili has spaghetti, cinnamon and cloves, and was a different taste than I’ve ever had,” he explained. The same could be said of the Backyard Burger. “It was completely different … but with a unique texture and really good.”
And with his growing palate, Reynolds continued to ask himself, “Is there something in these particular burgers that people find more appealing than other ones? And can I relate something like that to what I’m doing?”
Thus, while he said his “30 day” project produced three clear personal favorites, he chose not to list them. First, because he didn’t feel it was his place to judge others, and second: “Everybody else has different tastes.”
“It was a good way for me to get to know the community better because I’m an outsider,” he said. “I’m just some knucklehead who makes internet memes and sells smash burgers. There’s a whole list of people in this town who have gone to culinary school and have done things the right way and paid their dues. And here’s this dumbass who just comes up here with a food truck and acts like he owns a place.
“I never wanted to be that guy, so I want to give back or promote people and show that they are the real stars in this league. I’m just here to shine the spotlight on you.”
Take a look at Reynolds’ journey and find out where the Smash City Burger’s trailer will be next @smash.city.burgers on Instagram.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.