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Batavia home to first Chicago-area Smashburger

The Randall Road corridor is now home to the first Chicago-area location of Smashburger.

The Denver-based Smashburger restaurant has chains around the country, but didn't have any eateries in this area until December, when one opened in Batavia.

It is the first of what company officials expect will be seven Smashburger locations open in the area by the end of 2011.

Caiti Carrow, a public relations executive for Smashburger, said the company had been looking to locate in the Chicago area for over a year. She said they wanted a place where burger lovers live, work and play, and came up with Batavia.

“Also, with Randall Road being the link between many communities in the area, we thought this was the prime location to service not only Batavia, but surrounding communities as well,” she said.

So far, district manager Alex Batio said, Smashburger has been welcomed warmly into the community by customers, most of whom didn't know what a Smashburger was when they walked in the door. The restaurant is doing especially well at lunch, he said, since customers can have a great meal fast.

The restaurant gets its name from the way the burgers are cooked. Smashburgers are made from 100 percent fresh, certified Angus beef, Carrow said, that are smashed flat on a grill to sear in the juicy flavor.

The burgers are then served on a toasted artisan bun and topped with a choice of real cheeses, fresh produce and condiments.

For the first Chicago location, Smashburger has a regional menu, which includes a Windy City Smashburger, with cheddar cheese, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato and mustard on a pretzel bun.

They also have a Chi-Town Polish sausage, a Bottled Green River float and Vienna beef hot dogs in their Smashdogs.

Carrow said she's hoping more and more people will try out the restaurant and come to love Smashburger.

“We want Smashburger to be everyone's favorite burger place — somewhere you can go for a better burger on the go or eat in for a quick workday lunch, date night, a family dinner, or with the team after the game,” she said.

Even though “burger” is in the name, the restaurant has more on its menu, she said. There are Smashchicken sandwiches, Smashdogs and Smashsalads with lots of sides, as well as beer, wine, ice cream, shakes and soda.

The restaurant is located at 842 N. Randall, at the corner of Randall and Fabyan Parkway.

Happy anniversary: Vino 100, along Randall Road in the Algonquin Commons shopping mall, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this weekend.From 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, it will be serving up at least 14 different wines for tasting,There will also be cheeses and other items to nibble on.To celebrate the milestone, the store will be giving away prizes and offering discounts on some wine purchases.Everyone is welcome to attend.Coming soon: Algonquin Commons, along Randall Road, soon will be home to two more stores.Motherhood Maternity, which sells clothes and accessories for pregnant women, is opening soon in the mall.Also coming to the mall is Suithouse, which advertises great deals on suits no matter what you size is.Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036. 640427Kayt Binetti shows off some of the offerings at Smashburger. The Batavia restaurant is the first of seven locations slated for the Chicago area.Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com