Anticipation continues to build for the upcoming Wash Ave Food Hall, and its latest tenant announcement adds another recognizable local name to the lineup. Steve’s Smash – Burgers & Fries, a new concept from HuSTL Hospitality Group, will join the downtown St. Louis destination as a founding food partner when it opens this fall.
The concept grew out of the smashburger menu introduced at Steve’s Hot Dogs‘ South Grand location in 2024, where the burgers quickly developed a following of their own. What started as a menu addition became so popular that HuSTL Hospitality Group decided to give the burgers their own identity at the new food hall.
“We have always been known for taking familiar comfort food and making it creative, fun and memorable,” said Steve Ewing, chief creative officer of HuSTL Hospitality Group, in a statement. “We proved that with Steve’s Hot Dogs, we expanded it with Steve’s Meltdown, and now we are giving our smashburgers the brand and the focus they deserve.”
Steve’s Smash will serve a streamlined menu centered around smashburgers made with a custom blend of chuck, sirloin and brisket, seasoned with a house salt-and-pepper blend and cooked on a high-heat flat-top grill for crispy edges. Burgers will be served on grilled potato buns with single or double patties.
The opening menu includes four options: Hey Now, You’re An All-Star with American cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato, raw onion, ketchup, mayo and mustard; Figgy Stardust with fig jam, bacon, goat cheese, balsamic glaze and white cheddar; Tropic Thunder with grilled pineapple, pepper jack cheese, pulled pork, Honey Chipotle BBQ and grilled onion; and a build-your-own option.
The menu also features seasoned crinkle fries, Steve’s Famous Chili Cheese Fries, Darth Tader Fries topped with Buffalo sauce, bacon, shredded cheddar and ranch, and Bacon Cheeseburger Fries with burger crumbles, bacon and cheese sauce. Excel soda will round out the beverage offerings.
Steve’s Smash will be one of several local vendors inside the Wash Ave Food Hall, a new food and beverage destination developed by FIRETEN in partnership with Oliver Properties. The project is intended to serve downtown residents, office workers and visitors while adding another gathering place to the Washington Avenue corridor.
“Steve’s Smash is exactly the kind of local, energetic and proven concept we want in the Wash Ave Food Hall,” said Natalie Zabiegalski, chief operating officer of FIRETEN, in a statement. “HuSTL Hospitality Group understands how to create food people get excited about, but they also understand community.”
According to the company, the food hall location aligns with HuSTL Hospitality Group’s growing focus on food halls, stadiums and other high-volume hospitality concepts. The company also operates Steve’s Hot Dogs, Steve’s Meltdown, The Fountain on Locust and The Fountain on Delmar.
“Downtown St. Louis matters to the future of this city, and Wash Ave has all the ingredients to be one of the region’s most active and exciting neighborhoods,” said Danni Eickenhorst, CEO of HuSTL Hospitality Group, in a statement. “We believe in the people investing here, we believe in the residents and businesses already here, and we believe in the potential of this neighborhood. Opening Steve’s Smash at the Wash Ave Food Hall gives us a chance to be part of that momentum in a very real way.”
The expansion will also make Jeremy Robinson, HuSTL Hospitality Group’s chief operating officer for Steve’s Brands, a partner in the new venture as part of the company’s leadership development initiative.
Steve’s Smash is expected to open this fall alongside the Wash Ave Food Hall, which recently announced 4 Hands Brewing Co. as its anchor beverage tenant. Additional vendor announcements and food hall details will be announced in the coming weeks.
