Smileys Burger Club will take over former How Crispy space in Summerhill
Smileys Burger Club, which first began as a pop-up, will open Oct. 1 in Summerhill, taking over the former How Crispy space on Georgia Avenue.
Ean Camperlengo, co-owner of Smileys, confirmed the expansion in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. With permitting already underway, the new location of Smileys will open Oct. 1 with plans to secure a liquor license early next year.
Smileys Burger Club’s rise from pop-up to burgeoning empire
Camperlengo didn’t set out to build a burger empire. He just wanted to make a good burger, first in a traveling pop-up, then in a 400-square-foot walk up window in Decatur.
The result was Smileys Burger Club with its double patty, hard seared, lacey-edged smashburger with melted American cheese, house-made pickles and signature sauce on a pillowy potato roll, sold out of a space so small the limitations became the restaurant’s whole design philosophy. Now, Camperlengo and his crew are bringing that low-fuss, high-flavor ethos to the Summerhill neighborhood.
Taking over the former How Crispy space in Summerhill, which shuttered in May, the new location marks an ambitious next step for the Decatur crowd-pleaser. Before landing in Summerhill, the team kicked around various options across the metro area. But when the How Crispy spot opened up, the structural overlap with their original footprint made the move impossible to ignore, joining a stretch of Georgia Avenue that’s on the rise after seeing real turnover. Chef Demetrius Brown’s highly anticipated Heritage Supper Club is opening just steps away.
The food menu will mirror Decatur’s, with the Smileys signature smashburger in various sizes, a veggie option, seasoned fries, fried cheese curds and house-made potato chips with the option of Hecken dip, a savory French onion style that’s become a quiet favorite.
The original Smileys kitchen never had room for a milkshake machine, so the restaurant serves frozen sodas topped with whipped cream and sprinkles instead.
Alcohol won’t be a part of the opening lineup. The City of Atlanta doesn’t prorate liquor licenses, and with this year two-thirds gone, the team plans to hold off until January. It’s a decision Camperlengo is at peace with.
“Alcohol accounts for less than 10% of our business,” he said, noting that rising interest in sobriety and simple math dictate that cheeseburgers — not beer — carry the business.
“Smileys systems are dialed in,” Camperlengo said. “The charm of Smileys is its size; its limitations and the creativity we’ve employed to make a 400-square-foot restaurant work. When Summerhill came into the picture, everybody got excited because it fits the exact same format: It’s got a small kitchen, a decent-sized patio and it’s part of a strip in a neighborhood packed with families, so the similarities are blaring and that led us to explore it a little bit more seriously.”
Restaurant owners see a bright future in Summerhill
“We were heartbroken that we couldn’t make How Crispy work in Summerhill,” said former owner Greg Best in an interview with the AJC. “Ultimately, we feel like it was a timing thing. The neighborhood was great to us, and the residents of Summerhill are incredibly supportive. The district just needs more support from the city at large. Our great hope is that the existing businesses and those soon to open on Georgia Avenue see an increased engagement. The Summerhill neighborhood is a unique treasure that A-Town can’t afford to let dry up and blow away!”
The ownership behind Smileys reflects the same neighborhood-first instinct driving the move. Camperlengo runs day-to-day operations alongside Tanner Crotty, who is stepping into more of a leadership role as the two split ownership responsibilities going forward.
Tanner’s father, Sean Crotty, a longtime mentor of Camperlengo and former owner of Kelly’s Market, is staying on in a slightly reduced role. Rounding out the ownership group are neighborhood partners Randolph Kallenberg and Ron Peterson, whose investment goes beyond capital. They first contributed the cash to expand the Decatur location’s patio, simply because they wanted something nicer to walk past.
“That level of interest and involvement kind of stays on every decision,” Camperlengo said.
That local ethos translates directly to physical choices on-site, particularly on the outdoor patio. Swapping out How Crispy’s previous high-top setup, the Smileys team is bringing in longer communal tables and ample seating specifically designed to accommodate sprawling family dinners and neighborhood gatherings. It’s a layout Camperlengo says is inspired by what he sees at the Decatur location.
“My favorite thing that I see at Smileys currently is three generations of a family sitting together, enjoying a meal,” he said. “That’s success, man.”
The location also puts Smileys within reach of Georgia State’s campus, a fact Camperlengo takes seriously. Student employees, hired before the Smileys opening, are becoming an informal street team, handing out stickers, merch and discounted deals aimed at drawing dorm-dwelling students who might otherwise default to fast food.
“I think it’s a good cheeseburger for $8,” Camperlengo said, “and I am hoping we can capture not only the family side of things, but Grant Park and Summerhill really latching onto us too.”
For Camperlengo, the neighbors sealed it as much as the real estate did. He points to Talat Market’s Parnass Savang and Little Bear’s Jarrett Stieber as the kind of operators who make a corridor feel like a club worth joining rather than a risky gamble. It’s the same dynamic, he says, that’s made Decatur work — a cluster of restaurants genuinely rooting for each other instead of just competing for the same tables.
71 Georgia Ave. SE, Atlanta. smileysburgerclub.com
Correction
This story has been updated to correct the opening date of Smileys Burger Club in Summerhill.