The New Lineup

Smashburger is rolling out a New York deli-inspired limited-time menu at its 178 locations beginning October 6, anchored by two pastrami builds and a pair of Häagen-Dazs® hand-spun seasonal shakes. The Denver-based fast-casual chain — 112 corporate-owned, 66 franchised — is also permanently refreshing its grilled chicken tier with two new sandwiches designed to capture higher-protein demand without complicating back-of-house execution.

The New York Pastrami Smash stacks smoked black pastrami, Swiss cheese, grilled onions, dill pickles, mustard, and mayo on a Certified Angus Beef patty served on a butter-toasted Parker House roll. A companion item, the New York Pastrami Big Dog, applies the same deli build to a 100% Angus beef quarter-pound hot dog on a toasted Big Dog roll. Both are available for a limited time at participating locations nationwide.

On the seasonal beverage side, a Pumpkin Spice Shake and an Apple Pie Shake — each hand-spun with Häagen-Dazs ice cream — give operators a dessert upsell peg for the fall selling season, a window when indulgent LTOs have historically driven check-average lift across the fast-casual segment.

Chicken and Operational Logic

Beyond the LTO window, Smashburger is adding two permanent grilled chicken sandwiches to its core menu. The Grilled Chicken Avocado Club layers applewood-smoked bacon, fresh-sliced avocado, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ranch on an all-natural marinated filet. The Deluxe Grilled Chicken Sandwich is a leaner build — marinated filet, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a butter-toasted bun — positioned as an everyday value option.

The chicken additions reflect a broader fast-casual playbook: as beef commodity costs remain elevated, operators are leaning on premium chicken SKUs to broaden their addressable occasion set while holding accessible price points. For c-store foodservice programs watching QSR-at-cstore trends, the grilled chicken move signals that the better-burger segment is actively competing for health-leaning lunch and dinner traffic.

What It Means for Operators

CEO Jim Sullivan framed the launch around execution discipline as much as menu creativity. "As we continue to focus on operational excellence across our restaurants, we're intentionally developing the menu with innovations that create excitement for guests while supporting consistent execution for our operators," he said. That dual mandate — novelty for guests, simplicity for the line — mirrors the calculus convenience foodservice operators apply when evaluating limited-time offer strategy for made-to-order programs.

Smashburger is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jollibee Foods Corporation. The pastrami LTO and seasonal shakes are available October 6 at participating locations; the grilled chicken sandwiches are on the core menu now. Full details at www.smashburger.com.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.