New Pismo Beach burger joint has a ‘keep it simple’ menu — with a lot of smash
A bright neon red sign recently lit up in Pismo Beach, advertising “smash burgers” and ”smashed lemonade” to passersby.
Low Tide Spot at 246 Pomeroy Ave. in Pismo Beach held its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 26, after officially opening two months ago on Nov. 20.
So why go with smash burgers for the new location? Owner Andy McKay said after 15 years of seeing businesses come and go from the spot, he saw the craze for the smashed hamburgers and knew he wanted to bring them to Pismo Beach.
“I looked at it from afar and thought, ‘What would work good here?’” McKay told The Tribune. “I’ve always wanted to open a hamburger place too. Then this spot became available. It just all came together, and we made it happen.”
McKay, who operates Low Tide Spot with general manager and chef Ben Schutz, said he watched the 700-square-foot space on Pomeroy Avenue be home to a host of other eateries over the years, from Shark Bites Hot Mini Donuts to Chipwrecked and most recently, Louie the Lip’s Weenie World.
“It’s a 101-year-old building, but I think it’s been a restaurant almost at least 60 years back, talking to the locals,” McKay said. “I’ve seen the spot grow and change over the years. … A lot of history here. It’s kind of cool to take it to the next stage.”
The business’s next stage takes the form of smashed hamburger patties, French fries fried in tallow oil instead of seed oils and smashed lemonade, which includes one complete lemon “smashed” in a 32-ounce cup with Low Tide’s signature lemonade. It comes in flavors like blue raspberry, strawberry or watermelon.
A new addition to Low Tide’s menu is the Oklahoma fried onion burger, coined the “original smash burger,” and includes an array of thinly sliced onions that become caramelized with the patty, served with American cheese and burger buns steamed on the grill.
“Our goal is to always keep it super simple, so I don’t think we’re going to change much from what we have now,” McKay said.
Low Tide Spot also expanded its menu to include smash breakfast sandwiches, where McKay crushes a breakfast sausage or bacon the same way he smashes a burger patty and a fried egg. Breakfast tallow tots are also on the menu and a “crappy cup of coffee,” a call-back to the film “Elf” and another way for Low Tide to “keep things super simple.”
“It seems like a lot of coffee places are getting really high-end and elite with their coffee, and we’re just trying to go the opposite; we’re just a cup of joe, a crappy cup of coffee,” he said. “We’re not trying to sugarcoat it and put all these different flavors. It’s not from Ethiopia or anything. We get it from Smart & Final. It’s just regular, good coffee.”
The “crappy cup of coffee” goes for $3 currently, but McKay said he plans to lower it to $2.
For smash breakfast sandwiches and smash burgers, the price ranges from $8 to $12 based on whether one orders a single, double or triple patty. Smashed lemonades ring up for $6, with eight different flavors to choose from.
For more information
Low Tide Spot is open from Thursday to Monday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information about the smash burger joint, visit its website at lowtidespot.com or call 805-746-3079.