When Beasties Mexican Smashburgers promises an “indulgent flavor experience,” they mean it.
Their signature burgers — at $8 for the single patty up to $16 for the triple patty — are all made with Angus beef, caramelized onions and jalapenos, white American cheese, chorizo, a special sauce, and queso to dip.
“There’s nobody like us out there in the market,” owner Tom Capler said about his new shop, at the former Eat Fantastic location in the Marina Pacifica shopping center
The inspiration for Beasties struck Capler while he was traveling for his full-time job as a private chef. On one trip, he had a hamburger that he said perfectly captured the East Coast vibe, which started him thinking about how to encapsulate the West Coast, particularly Southern California, in food form.
He settled on taco stands and smashburgers.
Beasties combines these concepts by adding the chorizo, jalapenos and queso to all of their burgers. They can also be ordered in the form of a gluten-free taco, which comes two for $8; a burgerito, which takes everything that comes on the two patty smashburger plus their signature tallow fries and wraps it in a flour tortilla for $16; or as Beastie fries that come with all the fixings for a single patty smashburger on top of their tallow fries.
For dessert, they offer horchata and Mexican hot chocolate soft serve for $5 and San Diablo churros for $8.
Capler said it took about two years from the moment of inception to opening Beasties.
“Taking it from some idea I had one day at lunch to a place that you could walk in and sit and actually eat the food and to see people’s reactions, that has been the best part,” Capler said.
Jon Rogan, Capler’s business partner and “the cheese sauce master,” helped develop the menu and figured out the restaurant’s supply chain.
“We just really tried to focus on the best quality possible. That’s really been a guiding light for us,” Rogan said. “We’re not taking any shortcuts or doing things just based on price. We’re all about flavor and taste.”
Beasties Mexican Smashburgers will have its grand opening Sept. 20-21. During the grand-opening weekend, they’ll have giveaways including free burgeritos for the first 100 guests, gift cards, and tickets to Disneyland and professional baseball and basketball games.
In the future, Capler hopes to get a Beasties food truck to expand their reach.
“I mean, the dream is to open more of them, but I’m also happy just to serve Long Beach, this community I love,” Capler said. “Of course, everybody dreams of opening a huge burger chain or whatever, but right now my focus is Beasties and the Long Beach community.”