Fresno burger spot has so much ‘good hype’ that it’s opening its 5th location in 2 years
Hammy’s Smashburgers is turning 2 — and this week announced plans for its fifth location.
The popular restaurant specializing in hamburgers smashed thin and crispy with a metal tool opened at Shaw and Blythe avenues near Costco two years ago this month.
It made such a splash that it’s added several more locations since then.
It announced this week that yet another one is coming, this one to northeast Fresno. It plans to open a restaurant at Cedar and Shepherd avenues, in the same shopping center as Vons.
The restaurant took over the former Fluckers Hot Chicken space, which closed. If all goes as planned, Hammy’s will open before the end of November, said owner Hamzah “Hammy” Ahmed.
“We’re hoping to open before the holidays,” he said. “It will be our Christmas gift to Fresno.”
It will be Hammy’s fifth location.
Its second is located in Los Angeles.
The other three are all on Shaw Avenue: Besides the original on the west side of the city, it opened a Clovis location near Walmart, and another near Fashion Fair mall, in the former Pita Grill spot on the corner of Shaw Avenue and First Street.
Why so many so fast?
Ahmed said he didn’t intend to open this latest one so quickly. But a real estate broker friend called with an ideal space.
“He had a location that would be perfect for a Hammy’s because there’s no burger spots around that entire area,” he said. “I fell in love in with the location.”
The smashburger trend is also taking off in Fresno (Smash Bros Bistro, Smash’N Burgers and Main Street Burgers have all opened recently).
Hammy’s appears to have a solid reputation and lots of fans.
Said one Yelp.com reviewer: “I’m a sucker for a good hype type place. Hammy’s definitely has a lot of hype and 100% lives up to it!”
The restaurant has a 4.6 rating out of 5 stars on the restaurant review site, with 350 reviews.
Ahmed said it’s all because of the customers.
“The Fresno community has honestly done everything for us, supporting us this whole time,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, we’d still be at one location.”
Are there any more in the works?
“Not anytime soon,” he said. “I think I have my hands full with these — but eventually we want to expand out to different cities so they can get the Hammy’s experience as well.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 12:27 PM.
