Herbie's Burgers
Smash burger chain · 8+ locations · Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park, Brooklyn
A pink-and-neon smash burger counter that reads like a franchise chain and isn't one. Four Albany partners have owned all eight shops outright since 2021, with no investor anywhere in the structure. The first franchised locations are due in 2026.
The Big Picture
Four partners opened a burger counter on Albany's Lark Street in 2021 and have taken it to eight shops, one of them in Brooklyn, without selling a share of it. Crew postings start at $17 an hour with health insurance and paid sick time, above both the upstate minimum and the national median for the job. Sourcing and environmental disclosure are the thin parts, a grass-fed-organic beef claim with no supplier named behind it and no published environmental commitments, which nobody outside the four owners is currently in a position to press them on.
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Explore all diningCompany data last updated August 2026
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