Tampa

Northeastern Burger Chain Slap Burger Bringing Late Night Eats to Tampa

Expect the brand to open this month.

Image from Slap Burger

TAMPA, FL — Slap Burger, a New York- and New Jersey-born smashburger franchise, is set to open a full-service restaurant June 21 at 14915 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33613, franchisee Kamel Musallet told Business Debut.

The restaurant will seat about 40 guests and sit a short drive from the University of South Florida campus, Musallet shared with Business Debut in a phone interview. He said the location is near student housing just behind the plaza and about two miles from USF.

Musallet said the concept aims to serve late-night diners, including students looking for a midnight snack.

The menu centers on smashburgers available as single, double or triple patties. Musallet said guests can order variations like the Slap and Flame burger with jalapeños.

He highlighted a signature Slap Melt with two patties and three cheeses stuffed inside. “When you bite into it, all the cheese comes out,” Musallet told Business Debut.

Traditional toppings focus on pickles, cheese, caramelized onions and a house slap sauce. Expect the sauce, made with a secret recipe, to have a slight kick.

Sides include fries and in-house mac and cheese. The restaurant will serve hot dogs and a range of loaded platters built on fries or mac and cheese with beef patties or chicken, cheese and slap sauce on top.

Musallet said group-friendly “boxes” will feature configurations such as 12 burgers with a 2-liter soda, or mixes of burgers, Nashville-style chicken sandwiches, fries and chicken tenders. Shakes in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and an organic Slap Lemonade line, with flavors such as dragon fruit, raspberry, strawberry, peach, mango and blue curaçao-style lemonade, round out the menu.

Opening Timeline

Musallet said he is targeting a June 21 opening date. This has not been formally finalized as of now.

Hours

Slap Burger plans to stay open late for the neighborhood. Musallet said the team will start by operating until about 2:30 a.m. and may extend hours to 3 a.m.

Exact daily opening and closing hours are to be announced.