Bright-orange burger boxes are about to be hard to miss across the Denver metro. Smalls Sliders, the Southern-born shipping-container burger chain, is making a multi-site push into Colorado, with franchise partners plotting a string of compact walk-up and drive-thru spots. The brand’s modular “Cans” are being pitched from Parker to Lakewood, following its first Colorado opening earlier this year in Northglenn. For local diners, that could mean quicker buildouts and more late-night options tucked into small retail pads.
Smalls Sliders recently rolled out news of a newly signed seven-unit development deal in south Denver and says it now has 17 units in the works across Colorado, as reported by KDVR. Planned markets include Parker, Castle Rock, Lone Tree, and Lakewood, although there are still no exact addresses or opening timelines. Those details typically surface once local franchise partners move deeper into the permitting process.
How The ‘Can’ Model Works
The concept runs out of bright Smorange-colored shipping containers the company calls “Cans,” serving cheeseburger sliders, seasoned waffle fries, and hand-spun milkshakes, according to Smalls Sliders. The chain leans into a deliberately tight menu and a plug-and-play build approach that speeds up openings compared with full ground-up construction. Launched in 2019, Smalls has spent the past few years leaning hard into franchising.
Northglenn Debut And Where To Expect More
Colorado’s first Can landed in Northglenn in early January, with local coverage placing the debut in the Karl’s Farm area near East 120th Avenue, per KYGO. Reporting and franchise materials indicate that future Colorado sites are likely to favor suburban pads with drive-thru lanes and walk-up windows. Residents and local planning boards can expect more concrete site details to show up in public permit records before the grand-opening banners go up.
What This Growth Means For Denver
Franchise trade coverage notes that Smalls has been signing multi-unit deals across the country and counts former NFL star Drew Brees as one of its investors, making the slider outfit a relatively high-profile newcomer to the Denver market, per Franchising.com. That investor backing, paired with its compact, modular footprint, helps explain why developers have been open to dropping a Smalls Can onto smaller pads that might be too tight for a full-size build.
Specific addresses and opening dates are expected to roll out as franchisees file permits and post updates on the company’s website and social feeds. In other markets, similar multi-unit pushes have moved quickly once permits clear, a trend noted in Hoodline’s coverage of the chain’s burger box invasion in the Phoenix metro.
