Sip n’ Smash is a restaurant concept that hearkens back to the days when a burger joint sold little more than hamburgers, fries and milkshakes.
Owners Jason Malih and Elias Ishak opened the restaurant July 8 at 9540 Gate Parkway, Unit 115. It is in The Palms at Gate Parkway next to 14 Prime and across the street from The Block Jax.
Sip n’ Smash’s burgers, priced at $13.99 to $15.49, are two 3.35-ounce patties made with a blend of brisket and short ribs. There are six variations combining different sauces, cheeses and other condiments. Children’s burgers come with one patty and cost $9.99 to $11.49.
The fries and onion rings are cooked in 100% beef tallow. Sauces are made on-premises. The milkshakes are hand-spun.
Malih said a burger, fries and a milkshake will cost around $25.
“You should not be hungry after eating, because I can’t tell how many times I’ve had a burger, say, it is $10 or something. By the time I get it, it is so small, I could almost get a second one,” he said.
Sip n’ Smash also has a dessert twist: mini donuts from The Mini Bar, a Northeast Florida brand that previously operated storefronts in Jacksonville Beach, Fleming Island and Deerwood. The first location opened in 2018 and the last closed in 2024.
For the past year, The Mini Bar owners Brooke Sams and her spouse, Chase, have been developing a licensing package to bring the brand into other restaurants.
Sip n’ Smash is the first restaurant client to license The Mini Bar’s recipes and branding. Sams declined to provide the cost of the license.
The mini donuts are about a third the size of a typical donut and will be made in-house at Sip n’ Smash, featuring a rotation of about eight flavors from a lineup of more than 20. They are sold to go in boxes of eight, 16 and 24, and are also used as an ingredient in craft milkshakes costing $9.99.
The restaurant also offers freshly made lemonade in eight flavors including strawberry, mango, sour apple and sour blueberry.
Being the first tenant meant a total build-out, with a budget of more than $500,000. Honest Construction of Jacksonville was the contractor.
The restaurant seats 110 inside and out and will employ 25. It will initially be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. but may expand its hours to 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
The 15.4-acre The Palms at Gate Parkway is owned by Ash Properties.
Sip n’ Smash purposely has no drive-through service, Malih said.
“I just believe it’s harder to get the customer satisfaction that they deserve through a drive-thru window. I believe if you sit in-house, we can correct any issues that somebody has,” he said.
“I’ve never seen a Michelin-star restaurant with a drive-thru.”