Burger She Wrote Is Opening a Second Location in Sherman Oaks
Don Nguyen’s wagyu smashburger concept expands from Fairfax to the Valley this May, bringing its cult following with it.
Summary
- Burger She Wrote, the wagyu smashburger concept founded by professional skateboarder Don Nguyen and the late restaurateur Steven Arroyo, opens its second location at 14245 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks on May 30
- The restaurant is built around the Oklahoma Burger, a 1920s smashburger style that involves smashing thinly sliced onions directly into the beef — a technique Nguyen brings a personal connection to as an Oklahoma native
- The Fairfax original has developed a cult following among pro skaters and creatives, with Benny Blanco, Seth Rogen, Tony Hawk, Hilary Duff, and members of Turnstile among its regulars
Don Nguyen is taking Burger She Wrote to Sherman Oaks. The wagyu smashburger concept he co-founded with the late Steven Arroyo opens its second location at 14245 Ventura Blvd on May 30, bringing the Oklahoma Burger that built the brand’s cult following to the Valley for the first time.
The Oklahoma Burger is worth understanding before you order one. The style dates to the 1920s, when cooks discovered that smashing thinly sliced onions directly into the beef as it cooked stretched the meat while saturating it with flavor — a technique born from necessity that turned out to produce a better burger than most approaches developed since. Nguyen, who is from Oklahoma, did not arrive at this style by way of trend research. It is the burger he grew up eating, and Burger She Wrote is built around doing it correctly rather than doing many things adequately. “I didn’t want to do a lot of things poorly,” Nguyen has said. “I wanted to do one thing really good. Our secret weapon is quality.” At a moment when LA’s restaurant scene rewards maximalism and novelty, that position is its own kind of statement.
The Fairfax original, which opened in 2021, has accumulated the kind of following that only happens when the food is genuinely good and the brand identity is genuinely coherent. Pro skaters, creatives, and an occasional celebrity — Benny Blanco, Seth Rogen, Tony Hawk, Hilary Duff, Turnstile — have made it a regular stop, which in the Fairfax district means something more specific than it would elsewhere. That neighborhood has long functioned as a meeting point for skate culture, streetwear, and the broader Los Angeles creative community, and Burger She Wrote fits that ecosystem without having been engineered for it.
The Sherman Oaks expansion marks Burger She Wrote’s second chapter, and the first genuine test of whether what worked on Fairfax travels. Arroyo, whose past projects included Church & State, Escuela Taqueria, and Cobras & Matador, brought a serious hospitality background to the partnership; his legacy continues through the involvement of his family in the operation alongside Nguyen and the broader ownership group. The brand’s continued growth plans suggest the Sherman Oaks location is the beginning of something rather than a one-time extension.
Burger She Wrote Sherman Oaks opens its doors on May 30.
Burger She Wrote
14245 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks
