Halal at the mall: Smash'n Burger opens

A new locally owned business and passion for cooking has come to Capital Mall in Olympia - Smash'n Burger performed a ceremonial ribbon cutting on August 3, and officially started grilling for the public on August 11.

The new eatery located inside the mall’s food court is a passion project of Mariane Rony that began in 2020. She was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug at a young age as her aunt and uncle were successful businesspeople.

The blend of cooking and business combined in her Muslim neighborhood in Lacey. She set up a pop-up restaurant in the Night Market near her mosque. She sold out quickly, and people begged for more. She took her culinary adventurism to  Olympia Lakefair with great success and more encouragement. Recently she operated a booth at the Grays Harbor Fair where she was awarded the Best Food Award.

Finally the word had spread so much that the Capitol Mall took an interest in Mariane. It was time to take her business to the next level, a brick and mortar business open to the public.  

Smash'n Burger is born! Mariane uses her own private recipes for all the menu items. The burger is made with halal meat, hand-formed and smashed into a thin patty. But the special ingredient is her Smash'n Sauce.

Certified halal meat comes from animals raised without hormones or antibiotics that are slaughtered in a specific manner according to Islamic law. The process requires butchers to drain all the blood from the carcass as consumption of blood is forbidden for Moslems.

Smash’n Burger is a family affair. Mariane is supported by her husband, daughter, niece, and family friends who will work the storefront, and maintain the required hours of operation for the mall.

The Smash’n Burger menu has creative aspects Mariane developed through trial and error in her kitchen. “Fry Dust” brings unique toppings to a traditional burger accompaniment. “Dirty Lemonade” tops the menu list of creative drink concoctions. But the main driver of demand is Mariane’s unique take on the traditional hamburger. The halal meat is smashed down into a thin patty with special secret touches only Mariane and her family know.  She and her family are working hard to make the new restaurant a smashing success.

Find Smash’n Burger online on Instagram @smashnburgers or visit the Capital Mall in the food court to try a smash burger, fry dust and dirty lemonade.

Jay Fratt is an Olympia-based writer and entrepreneur.