Nash & Smashed Smash-burgers and Chicken Come to Monroe Street Market

Image Courtesy of Nash & Smashed via Instagram

By Anthony Curioso

This is an independently submitted op-ed and does not reflect the views of The Tower.

Just under two years after the closure of the Burgers Grilled Right (BGR) location at Monroe Street Market – a short walking distance from the CUA campus – a new fast-casual chain called Nash & Smashed has opened in the place where BGR once stood, beginning service on the evening of January 12, 2026.

As the name implies, Nash & Smashed offers smash-burgers, prepared by firmly pressing balls of ground beef on a hot griddle; fried chicken, available as bone-in pieces, wings, or tenders; and Nashville-style spicy chicken sandwiches. The chain’s locations are primarily in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, with one additional location already operational at a Walmart Supercenter in South Carolina and two locations coming to Upstate New York in the coming months. Specifically within DC, the Nash & Smashed Monroe Street Market location is the second to open within the city limits, following one on Connecticut Avenue Northwest, and the chain has three more locations due to open soon in DC on H Street Northeast, 8th Street Southeast, and Maple View Place Southeast.

Having been a major supporter of BGR when it was still open, I was devastated to learn of its closure leading into CUA’s Easter break in my sophomore year. When I saw that Nash & Smashed was coming, I was quite eager to try it and to gauge whether it was a worthy replacement for what the Brookland neighborhood lost when BGR closed.

I decided to try Nash & Smashed for a late lunch on January 17, breaking up a day in which I completed several necessary errands. Upon my arrival at Nash & Smashed, I was stunned to find that the line to place an order extended nearly out the front door, and every place to sit in the whole establishment was already occupied, except for one table off to the side. These were both promising sights to see, as they indicated that this place was extremely popular (though I have no idea to what extent the massive crowds were due to it still being new and not even being open for a week yet).

I was absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer number of menu items, and struggled to decide what to order. Nash & Smashed offers an enormous variety of sizes and spice levels for chicken orders, most of the side dishes that one might associate with soul food, an option to have up to 4 patties on any one of their 5 smash-burger offerings, and more beverage choices than any reasonable person would know what to do with.

Ultimately, I ordered a combo meal consisting of a 2-patty version of the chain’s “Mushroom Meltdown” burger – a very similar burger to what I used to get from BGR – along with their waffle fries and a bottle of water. All told, this combination came to about $18, which is right around what I expected to pay. 

All of my food was packed with flavor, and I would definitely order the same thing again. As seems to be the practice at Nash & Smashed, the workers provided extra of their signature sauce, which I used to dip my fries in, and it was delicious. However, I probably should have eaten something beforehand, as I found myself hungry again barely two hours after finishing my meal there and after completing my remaining errands for the day.

Overall, Nash and Smashed have proven themselves to be a highly successful replacement for BGR, with its only real flaw being that I became hungry again so quickly after finishing my meal there.