Smash Waffles, a new café concept created by Justin Cox and Hunter Harrison of Greenville, is expected to open in Wilmington this fall at 115 N. Front St.
 
Smash Waffles has been operating as a waffle delivery service since December. Cox and Harrison take online orders and work out of a commercial kitchen at a church in Greenville, creating a variety of sweet and savory waffles for delivery. Each week, five new flavors are posted on their website and they prepare for the orders to roll in.
 
“We felt this was the best way to test the market and perfect our product,” Harrison said. “And it accidentally exploded. Now we’re just trying to capture the market as quickly as we can.”
 
A partnership with restaurateur Rudy Theale and several other silent partners has allowed the founders to take their concept beyond the church kitchen to four North Carolina locations slated to open this fall. Greenville will have the first stand-alone store, followed shortly thereafter by Raleigh, Durham and then Wilmington.
 
The store menus will be expanding to include 13 waffle flavors, ice cream smashwiches, wagels (a twist on a bagel), chicken and waffle sandwiches and more.
 
Smash Waffles will also offer a coffee bar, but the founders stress that the coffee program is geared toward the masses and not coffee connoisseurs. A portion of all coffee sales is set to be allocated to charity as part of a giveback campaign.
 
Renovations will be underway shortly at 115. N. Front St., and a late fall opening is expected. The finishing touches are now being put on what Cox and Harrison call their tiny house on wheels – the Smash Shack – a custom-designed food truck that will be hitting North Carolina's roads in the coming weeks. For more information on Smash Waffles and where to find the Smash Shack, visit the company's website or Facebook page.

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