When I was talking with Tom Ryan for my review of Smashburger, he told me that Icon Burger -- the classic burger joint at 2755 Dagny Way in Lafayette that was the first burger property picked up by Cervantes Capital — will soon be shut down and turned into a Smashburger as well.
Opened by Lance Perryman years ago, Icon has long been a local favorite, a fifty-seat chrome diner done in the train-car style that offered burger lovers the good,old-fashioned pleasures of a simple cheeseburger — with a good menu of toppings that looked exactly like Smashburger’s menu of toppings looks now — along with some regional hot-dog specialties.
When the Cervantes people took over the place a couple of years ago, they milked it for every bit of restaurant-industry knowledge they could get — using it as a training ground, a lab, a turnkey playground where they could work through whatever QSR fantasies weren’t being fulfilled through their involvement in Quiznos (the “cornerstone of Cervantes’ operating businesses,” according to the company website).
While the Smashburger concept that emerged was a good one, it seems kinda greedy to tank the place that gave them their start in the business and turn it into another Smashburger. Thoughts like that, of course, are why I’d never make a good businessman, concept developer, financial whatsis or whatever it is that the people at Cervantes do when they’re not getting their fingers in the restaurant game. Still, I’ll be sad to see Icon go. -- Jason Sheehan
