Dallasites can now order a Smashburger at Side Hustle, a new burger joint that opened on October 16, 2023.
Side Hustle's invisible headquarters is inside Thunderbird Pies, a Detroit-style pizza joint in East Dallas. Side Hustle is a ghostly kitchen like the former Thunderbird Pies. It's a restaurant-within-a-restaurant where owner Jay Jerrier and his team let you sample his burger menu with delivery or catering without a contract.
“We've wanted to expand our catering options beyond pizza for quite some time,” says Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Amador. Their company owns Neapolitan pizza shop Cane Rosso, and Deep He has restaurants in Elm, East Dallas, North Dallas, Carrollton, Frisco, Arlington and Fort Worth. New York-style pizza at Zoli's in Addison and Fort Worth. Thunderbird Pie in East Dallas.
They talk candidly about why side hustles exist. “This summer has been painfully low for almost every restaurant,” Amador says. Thunderbird pie was hit the hardest. (Maybe people don't want to eat thick, hearty pizza in 105 degree heat?)
The addition of a side hustle to Thunderbird Pie is expected to “inject some vitality (and revenue) into the place after the downturn in the first half of this year.”
Side Hustle has 11 burgers, 1 chicken sandwich, and 3 sides. Delivery zones are within 5-11 miles of Thunderbird Pie, located at 7328 Gaston Ave. in Dallas, and all burgers are made in our east Dallas kitchen. The plan is to deliver burgers in parts of East Dallas, Deep Ellum, Uptown, Downtown, Knox-Henderson and Lake Highlands.
I just wish the delivery guy would wear something like this.
Side Hustle also hosts parties and catering gigs. The first time customers were able to try Side Hustle's Smashburger was on September 22, 2023, at a Kickoff His event at Rollertown His Beer Works in Celina.
Burger lovers won't be surprised by this new menu idea. His pizzeria Zoli's is famous for selling one of his best burgers in Dallas. Amador points out that Side Hustle's burgers (grilled until crispy) are not copies of other restaurants' burgers.
Side Hustle's Original Smashburger ($11) is topped with grilled onions and served with “Fortified Jalapeno Thousand Island” as the burger sauce.
As an ode to sister restaurant Cane Rosso's popular Honey Bastard pizza, and as a nod to the Texas-born chain restaurant, the Whatabastard ($11) is topped with provolone, hot soppressata, bacon marmalade, and habanero honey. It has been. The Wolf Pack ($16) has cheddar, hash browns, egg, bacon and avocado and is apparently a hangover cure. The Messy Jessy ($11) — I give her 10 gold stars for a great name — is a play on Sloppy Joe.
Many restaurants with slim menus keep their sides simple. (Raising Cane comes to mind.) At Side Hustle, the only option for fries is the curly type with Cajun seasoning ($6). The Big Ole Onion Ring ($6) comes with a side of ranch. The third side is charred onion dip and potato chips ($6). that's all.
They love the onions here. I hope it's not a date!
Dallas already has plenty of burger joints, but there are even more non-hamburger joints with one delicious burger on their menu. However, there are few Dallas-born delivery and catering-only models.
If Side Hustle does well, the company may find it a permanent home. It's a side job for now.
For more information, please visit: sidehustleburgers.com. Shipping with DoorDash. You can pick it up inside Thunderbird Pies at 7328 Gaston Ave., Dallas.
The original story was published on September 20, 2023. Updated opening date to October 18, 2023.
