Burger lovers, we have some ‘flipping’ fantastic news: New burger joint Jumbo Smash will be unveiled with a sizzling soft launch this Sunday before its grand opening early next year.
Jumbo is owned by Saba Maghsoudi, who opened North Adelaide wine bar Pastel with Elijah Makris and James Brown last year, and they have now combined their creative and design agencies into 2049.
Saba also co-owns sandwich joint Pinco Deli with Elijah, so between them they have a wealth of hospitality experience.
And now comes Jumbo Smash. The trio have been lucky enough to score chef Jimmy Garside, the former executive chef at Sydney burger joint Mary’s, who is now the mastermind behind the burgers at Jumbo.
“We brought in Jimmy, we are very lucky to have him, he spent many years as an executive chef at Mary’s in Sydney. We are lucky enough to have him in Adelaide and now as part of the Jumbo team,” Saba says.
“Chef Jimmy is a big asset to this operation and project, and it gives me good confidence that I’ve got someone like him in the team. I know what burgers taste good, but I don’t know how to make it taste good, but he does.”
“Executing a burger at a high level requires skills and someone experienced in the industry; when we met chef Jimmy through Pastel we thought it was something we could do together.”
Saba says at Jumbo Smash, people can expect late night burgers, late night liquor, and late night smiles.
“We will be open for lunch as well from Monday to Friday, but on Friday and Saturday night we’d love to have a place where people have a food option late at night, especially the hospitality crew, when they finish work they’ve got a place to go out to eat after service,” he says.
Saba says the refined menu will have a ‘quality over quantity’ approach, which includes 6 burgers and sides, and 3 menu items will be released at their soft launch at the Exeter: a smash burger, fried fish burger and mushroom burger.
“We want to give people a taste of Jumbo. We want to keep it fun, keep it loose, keep it considered but messy,” Saba says.
“This Sunday’s event with the Exeter, the institution is classic, we thought it’d be a really cool start to get the new boys and the old dogs in together for the event. This was the best place to do it, it felt like the right time, and we just want to make super considered, high-quality burgers.”
“We are looking forward to showing people what we’ve been working on hopefully we can get a lot of hospitality crews and consumers in.”
DJs will get the party started and keep it going, the Jumbo team will be smashing burgers outside under the marquee, and you can enjoy the festivities with a drink in hand brought to you by the Exeter.
The launch will take place from 12pm to 7pm, so you can savor a mouthwatering burger for lunch or dinner- or, why not make it a delightful day-long affair and indulge in one for both meals.
For now, Saba says they are keeping the final venue location and interior under wraps, but he did reveal that it would be “lo-fi vibe dining” with a relaxed atmosphere.
“I’ve always loved burgers as a whole, and so has Elijah; we like to own what we like to consume, and burgers are something that we like to enjoy consuming,” Saba says.
“Adelaide is very honest in hospitality because it is a small city. You do the best you can and the people will come. It’s one thing I appreciate about Adelaide hospitality: it thrives off regulars and locals, so you’ve gotta get the simple things right.”
“I’m a big believer in building everything yourself, putting different skillsets together to hopefully create the best product and the best venue, bringing the best people for that venue to the venue, that’s what I like to do with all my venues.”
WHAT: Jumbo Smash soft launch.
WHEN: Sunday 17th December, 12pm-7pm.
WHERE: Exeter Hotel, 246 Rundle St, Adelaide SA, 5000.
Find Jumbo Smash on Instagram here.
More News
