A new burger concept is joining the Greater Toronto Area’s fast-casual dining landscape as Soul Smash Burgers opens on Friday, December 12, in Mississauga. The streamlined brand enters the market with a tightly focused menu and an emphasis on fresh preparation, marking one of the more disciplined new independent openings in the region this year.
The 1,400-square-foot restaurant sits beside the flagship East Tea Can location, also operated by founder Shakir Al-Qanbar. He says the idea for Soul Smash Burgers grew out of a desire to eliminate the complication he sees across much of the category. “In an industry obsessed with novelty and extravagance, we decided to take a different approach and return to the basics,” he says. “People want a burger they can always rely on to be done right.”
The Mississauga location is deliberately pared back, using a simple counter-service layout and unfussy interior design. The goal is to keep attention on the menu, which Al-Qanbar says was refined through significant testing across dozens of burger variations. Even the soundtrack is part of the brand’s identity, curated to support the restaurant’s atmosphere without overshadowing the food.
Soul Smash Burgers uses AAA prime-grade Ontario beef that is hormone-free and sustainably raised. The beef is delivered twice daily and ground fresh each morning and evening. “We tested nearly 50 different burger iterations and refined every element from sauce recipes and pickle preparations to bun selections and cheese varieties,” says Al-Qanbar. “What we landed on was a menu shaped and approved by friends and family of all ages, making the final result a true labour of love.”
Two Core Burgers and a Rotating Feature
The menu centres on two signature burgers and a single limited-edition feature. The Standard is a double-patty cheeseburger prepared with American cheese, caramelized onions, pickles and the house Soul Sauce on a brioche bun. The Core adds raw onions, crisp lettuce, tomato relish and Soul Aioli, also on brioche.
The rotating feature draws inspiration from album tracklists. The current version, No. 1, is an Oklahoma-style burger built with thinly sliced onions smashed into two patties and finished with white American cheese, pickles and truffle aioli. All beef patties can be swapped for a vegetarian alternative. The children’s option, The Little Boss, was named by Al-Qanbar’s six-year-old son and features a single smashed patty with American cheese.
Shoestring fries are offered plain or as Soul Fries, which include melted cheese, caramelized onions, chopped pickles and both house sauces, with the option to add a chopped patty. Beverages include classic and strawberry lemonade, and desserts feature Lotus Biscoff and Triple Chocolate sundaes.
Designed From the Start for Multi-Unit Growth
Soul Smash Burgers was developed with future expansion in mind. Al-Qanbar says the compact footprint and limited menu allow the brand to fit into a range of urban and suburban locations while controlling quality and cost. “We actually have an aggressive expansion plan for that once we launch and verify everything,” he says. “Because it is a small concept with a small menu, we can fit it in multiple places in the city. We just want to open and see how things go, what the demand is like, and then we will probably have another two or three locations next year.”
He adds that the shared back-of-house infrastructure with East Tea Can, including the central kitchen, helps maintain product consistency and keep pricing in line with broader fast-casual market levels rather than pushing the concept into premium territory. “We were trying to manage to keep it at the lowest price tag possible that is very close to the market prices right now,” he says. “We have our main location and our central kitchen in the same plaza, so we have control over the production.”
Connection to East Tea Can and Broader Brand Development
Al-Qanbar is also the CEO and co-owner of East Tea Can, a contemporary Middle Eastern restaurant concept with locations in Mississauga and at The Well in downtown Toronto. Retail Insider profiled East Tea Can earlier this year, noting the company’s investment in design, hospitality and menu theatre, including bread baked in view of guests and a strong tea program.
While East Tea Can reflects Al-Qanbar’s culinary background, he says Soul Smash Burgers emerges from a personal enthusiasm for the North American burger category. “I like being in the kitchen. I like cooking, and recently I have developed something for burgers,” he says. “In California a few months ago, of course, In-N-Out caught my attention. I thought that there was no such place here that is small and easy to order, where you do not have to think a lot. So we came up with the idea of quick, easy and accessible burgers with high quality.”
He notes that despite the regional influence behind East Tea Can, Soul Smash Burgers has no Middle Eastern angle. It is meant to stand on its own and appeal broadly to GTA diners looking for a straightforward burger option made with consistent standards.
Opening Details and Hours
Soul Smash Burgers opens December 12 at 3115 Winston Churchill Boulevard in Mississauga. The restaurant will operate on a walk-in basis, with hours from Sunday to Thursday between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
