Franchise hopes for smash hit

The man who invented McGriddles and Stuffed Crust Pizza, with a Ph.D. in flavor and fragrance chemistry, is delivering his soulful love of a good burger to the Gulf Coast.

It comes in the form of Smashburger, a rapidly growing fast-casual restaurant chain founded in Denver in 2007, closing in on 375 locations nationwide. The chain's co-founder and chief brand officer, Tom Ryan, brings both the high-level education — before the Ph.D., he earned a master's in lipid toxicology — and successful hospitality career to Smashburger. He also brings a devotion to make a better burger.

“We think the Smashburger brand does the best job of putting great tasting burgers into people's lives,” Ryan tells Coffee Talk. “A lot of brands have commoditized burgers in the past. But our passion is burgers.”