Two years ago, I went to Cape Charles to meet 18-year-old Henry Smith, owner of Smashers, and grab some treats from the shops on Mason Avenue . He was operating a food trailer during the summers and I caught him on the closing day before he was heading to Roanoke College. He planned on continuing the seasonal business.
His smashburgers were excellent and I wrote, “It was one of my top three favorites of all time.”
Smith, now 20, left college after one semester and opened a restaurant last month near the Norfolk Premium Outlets in the former Fatburger & Buffalo’s Express. He selected this area to get more visitors. (Cape Charles’s population declines during the cooler months.)
While Smith’s parents wanted him to go to college, he said it wasn’t for him.
“I’m a fifth generation of Smiths to have a business in Cape Charles,” he said. “It’s in our blood.”
Smith’s decision looks promising: He sold more burgers in his first month at the restaurant than he did on the food trailer this summer.