New restaurant serves smash burgers and Detroit-style pizza
Smash burgers and Detroit-style pizza have arrived in Vero Beach.
Burger 101 and Square Pie joined forces to open a new restaurant in a small strip plaza on State Road 60 in Vero Beach, where Ty’s Deli used to be, said owners Erik Vallenilla and Tyler Ketchum.
The restaurant has limited hours and the pizza is takeout-only. Burger 101 is open 4-8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Square Pie is open 3-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday — but already is selling out.
“It being a small town, I knew it was going to be difficult,” Vallenilla said. “But then I thought to myself, this would work because it’s such a niche. It’s so exclusive.”
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Ketchum, who previously was executive chef at Polo Grill, opened Ty’s Deli in August 2022. Vallenilla, who had been in restaurant marketing for 10 years, saw Ty’s Deli was struggling and told Ketchum to do burgers. Specifically, smash burgers, which are a rare find on the Treasure Coast.
“That’s something different in the area,” Vallenilla said.
Vallenilla moved from Miami to Vero Beach to open a pop-up shop for Square Pie. When that fell through, he went all in to launch the pizza business while both Vallenilla and Ketchum built the burger business, which started two weeks later. They opened Burger 101 and Square Pie on Oct. 18.
Vallenilla, who previously worked for Yelp, said he’s been cooking his entire life.
“I’ve been profiling restaurants for so long that I know what works and what doesn’t,” Vallenilla said.
The process to make the dough is intense. He does a 48-hour fermentation using 80% water and 20% flour to make 50 pizzas each night. It took him a month and a half and 18 variations to get it right.
Vallenilla learned about Detroit-style pizza in Miami, especially from Vice City Pizza. These types of businesses started during the coronavirus pandemic and were sold out for months in advance.
“I see a business opportunity for the pizzas,” Vallenilla said.
For the burgers, Ketchum uses an Australian Wagyu beef blend with a steak blend and rolls out 3-ounce patties. He said he goes through about 40 pounds of meat each week.
He uses his own blend of seasoning that includes truffle, black garlic and shiitake mushrooms. He also uses that seasoning on the fries, which are fried in beef fat.
Ketchum uses a flat press and parchment paper to smash the burger and create crispy edges. It’s served on a brioche bun with pickles, American cheese and a special sauce that includes mayonnaise, smoked paprika and hot honey.
In the future, they plan to start baking their own buns, both brioche and sesame.
Burger 101
Square Pie
Address: 1846 20th St., Vero Beach
Hours: 3-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday (pre-order and pickup only)
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Follow her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Facebook @TCPalmLaurie. Email her at [email protected]. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: New restaurant: Burger 101, Square Pizza has smash burgers, Detroit pizza
