This weekend I got the VIP treatment at Charlotte’s soon-to-be opened SMASHBURGER.

I’d never been to a Smashburger before—and had to do a little googling to learn the story behind the name.

My research tells me the name Smashburger comes from the process used to cook burgers, which entails smashing a ball of 100% Certified Angus ground beef on a grill to sear in the juices (thank you Wikipedia!).