A new burger counter is angling for a slice of the busiest commuter corridor in Manhattan. Burger X NYC is targeting a mid-October opening at 360 W. 42nd St., in a storefront between W. 41st and W. 42nd streets, with a menu built around smash burgers, egg sandwiches and beer served mostly for takeout.
The concept comes from owner Jitesh Magnani, who was inspired by a friend's success running a burger business in Pennsylvania, according to WhatNow. Magnani says he wants the shop to lean on quality ingredients and food made in-house daily, and told the outlet, “I'm excited to sell good food to people.” Corporate filings list Jai Jhulelall Inc. as a New York domestic corporation registered on April 13, 2026, and identify Magnani as a contact, according to the New York Department of State.
The menu will stretch beyond burgers into breakfast territory, with a classic egg sandwich made with real butter, chives and house sauce on a brioche bun, plus egg salad and potato salad sandwiches. Smash burgers with one or two patties and a signature sauce anchor the lineup, alongside chicken burgers, veggie burgers and fresh-cut fries. The shop has also been approved for a liquor license and plans to serve beer, with alcohol sales starting at 8 a.m. and the location operating daily from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., per the same WhatNow report.
A Tiny Footprint Built for Takeout
With just four seats inside, Burger X NYC is built almost entirely around grab-and-go service — a layout that mirrors the space's own history. The storefront previously operated as Pop's Pizza and 99 Cent Fresh Pizza, according to listings tracked by AXS Map. That takeout-first blueprint lines up with a broader shift in the industry: food service research published by Tastewise in September 2025 named smash burgers among the top menu trends heading into 2026, noting that social media chatter about the thin, griddle-seared patties had grown 47 percent year-over-year.
The location practically guarantees foot traffic. Burger X NYC sits near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says handles roughly 250,000 passenger trips and 8,000 buses on a typical weekday as of 2024 — making it the world's busiest bus terminal. Just a few blocks away, Times Square pedestrian counts averaged 264,388 daily visitors in July 2026, a 13 percent jump over July 2025, according to the Times Square Alliance. That same report found storefront occupancy in the Times Square area at 88 percent in July 2026, alongside 261,203 square feet of newly signed direct retail leases.
Opening Amid a Decade-Long Construction Zone
The commuter crowds come with a catch: the block is in the middle of a massive infrastructure overhaul. Phase one of a $10 billion redesign of the adjacent Port Authority Bus Terminal advanced in August 2026, with a target completion date of 2032, as Hoodline detailed in its bus terminal rebuild coverage. Early work on the project has included ramp demolition and changed traffic patterns around the terminal.
The storefront sits along West 42nd Street as construction reshapes the block around it.
Late-Night Hours Along a Watched Corridor
Burger X NYC's plan to stay open until 1 a.m. daily puts it in a stretch of West 42nd Street near Ninth Avenue. The location is also near a busy transit corridor.
For now, Magnani is focused on getting the griddle running. With a mid-October target opening date, Burger X NYC is betting that a compact menu, a four-seat footprint and one of the busiest transit gateways in the country will be enough to turn commuters into regulars, even as construction crews keep reshaping the block outside its door.
