Katherine Feser
A burger chain backed by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is making a play in Texas.
Smalls Sliders, a Louisiana-based fast-food franchise founded by Brandon Landry in 2019 with Brees as an investor, is bringing its sliders served from modular restaurants to the Houston area. The 800-square-foot prefabricated restaurants it calls “cans” are built using steel shipping containers and feature drive-thru and walk-up ordering. Once delivered to the site, the cans can be open within a few weeks.
The company announced an agreement with entrepreneurs Preston Cunningham and David Higgins to open seven locations across Houston’s north side in the coming years. The first location, which was not disclosed, is expected to open by mid- to late 2024. Others will follow in areas such as The Woodlands, Conroe, Huntsville and Bryan-College Station.
“We were particularly interested in the unique design and construction of each Smalls Sliders location,” Higgins said in an announcement. “Aside from that, we also loved the idea of a concept that is based in simplicity. A small menu, small buildout and Cans that are dropped on-site – all of it culminates into a brand that is unlike anything out there.”
Smalls Sliders will fill a void left by other burger chains that have closed locations in Houston: international mini-burger franchise BurgerIM, and Checkers and Rally’s, whose modular stores arrived in partially built pieces to be assembled on site.
Smalls Sliders, backed by Atlanta-based private equity firm 10 Point Capital, has nine locations with another opening soon in Louisiana and 80 more in the works. The company recently announced a deal to bring five to the Beaumont-Lake Charles region.