Could a Tiny Burger Joint Change the Way We Franchise Restaurants?

By Sean Goldsmith

Smalls Sliders is expanding through tiny prefabricated restaurants, but the investment can exceed $2 million. Why are experienced franchisees signing up?

Imagine spending more than $2 million to open a burger restaurant, only to discover that the building itself measures just 750 square feet.

That's the sort of investment prospective Smalls Sliders franchisees could be considering. The American burger business has attracted considerable attention with its bright orange prefabricated restaurants, known as Cans, and a menu that barely extends beyond cheeseburger sliders, waffle fries and milkshakes.

Its latest franchise agreement will bring four more restaurants to Florida's Atlantic Coast. Announced in October, the deal involves experienced restaurant operators Joe Sloboda and Stanley Tsung of Stacked Hospitality, who plan to develop locations across the Space Coast and Treasure Coast, beginning in Port St. Lucie.

Smalls opened its first restaurant in Louisiana in 2019. Seven years later, it has become an interesting example of how a young food business can attract multi-unit franchise investors without following the conventional restaurant format.

But there's an obvious question worth asking. If the restaurants are so small, why does opening one cost so much?

Small Building, Enormous Commitment

According to a published summary of the company's March 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, the estimated initial investment ranges from approximately $1.41 million to $2.14 million.

That is the total estimated cost of opening a restaurant, rather than the price of the prefabricated building alone. Franchisees still need land or a lease, site preparation, equipment, utilities, signage and enough working capital to get through the opening period.

The company is clearly looking for investors who can afford substantial commitments. Its franchise recruitment information identifies an ideal candidate as someone with a net worth of $4 million and $1.5 million in liquid assets. Development agreements typically cover five restaurants, although operators need sufficient capital to develop their first two.

For someone buying a single restaurant to run personally, those numbers may be difficult to contemplate. For an established multi-unit operator, the calculation is different. They may already have the management staff, recruitment experience and financial resources needed to develop several locations.

Even then, the money has to come back somehow. A compact building is useful, but franchisees need enough customers buying burgers to cover the cost of opening it.

So What's the Advantage of a Can?

Smalls has its restaurants manufactured in a factory before they're transported to their sites. That means much of the construction can be completed under controlled conditions, with the same basic layout used repeatedly.

Anyone who has opened a restaurant will appreciate why that matters. Building delays are expensive, particularly when an operator has already signed a lease, arranged finance and started recruiting employees.

Factory construction could make the process more predictable. It doesn't eliminate planning approvals, site preparation or utility connections, and franchisees should still ask how long comparable restaurants have taken to open.

The menu is another important part of the arrangement. By concentrating on sliders, fries and shakes, Smalls gives operators fewer ingredients to manage and fewer preparation procedures to teach employees.

For a franchisee running five restaurants, that simplicity could be valuable. Training staff, ordering stock and maintaining consistent food quality become more manageable when each location follows familiar routines.

Of course, a shorter menu also places considerable pressure on the products being sold. Customers have fewer reasons to visit if they don't particularly want a burger.

Why Experienced Franchisees Are Signing Up

The Florida agreement is interesting because the people behind it aren't newcomers to restaurant franchising.

Sloboda and Tsung have experience developing restaurant businesses in Florida and overseas. Smalls will be another concept in their portfolio, suggesting they see an opportunity in the company's operating format and expansion plans.

For an emerging franchisor, attracting operators with that experience is encouraging. They understand property development, staffing and the financial demands of opening multiple locations. They are also likely to ask difficult questions before committing their capital.

Smalls says it has more than 375 restaurants open or under development across 30 states. That's a substantial pipeline for a business founded in 2019, although readers should remember that a signed development agreement doesn't mean a restaurant is already trading.

The company must now help franchisees turn those agreements into operating businesses, which means providing training, reliable supplies and ongoing support as its network expands.

Could This Change How Restaurants Are Franchised?

Smalls is also trying its operating model in places that don't resemble a typical roadside drive-through.

The company announced university locations at the University of Central Florida and the University of Mississippi, including a dining-room format and a restaurant inside a basketball arena.

Those experiments could give franchisees more options when looking for suitable properties. A university restaurant will have different customer patterns from a roadside location, but much of the food preparation and staff training could remain familiar.

Other emerging restaurant franchisors will be watching the results. Standardised buildings, limited menus and experienced multi-unit operators are sensible choices when a business wants to expand without making every new opening unnecessarily complicated.

The financial results still matter more than the appearance of the restaurants. Smalls' franchise disclosure materials provide sales information for prospective investors to examine, but sales alone don't establish what an owner earns after wages, food costs, rent, royalties and financing.

Given the investment involved, franchisees should expect to examine those figures closely and speak with existing operators before signing a development agreement.

A Big Opportunity in a Small Package

There's something encouraging about a young franchise business giving serious thought to how its restaurants are built and operated.

Smalls has developed a recognisable format, kept its menu manageable and attracted investors who understand multi-unit restaurant ownership. Those decisions could help franchisees expand more efficiently, provided the restaurants generate enough profit to justify the considerable investment.

The company still has to prove that its growing pipeline can become a successful network of operating restaurants. Opening hundreds of locations is a demanding undertaking, particularly when each one requires substantial capital.

But if Smalls can demonstrate that its prefabricated approach helps franchisees open on schedule, control operating costs and earn a worthwhile return, it will have achieved something other restaurant franchisors can learn from.

The buildings may be small. The opportunity for franchising could be considerably bigger.

What We Can Learn From This

Franchisors looking to expand should examine whether standardised buildings and simpler operations could reduce the complications their franchisees face when opening new locations. Smalls Sliders offers an interesting example, although its substantial investment requirements show why smaller premises don't automatically mean lower costs. Prospective franchisees should compare total opening expenses, construction schedules and actual restaurant profitability before agreeing to develop multiple sites. If Smalls can demonstrate that its operating model delivers attractive returns, it could give other emerging food franchises a useful example to follow.

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