When Jay Gordon and Chè Quaedvlieg opened the doors of Broken Hearts Burger Club’s Morningside eatery in December 2020, their expectations were modest. Despite the rapturous reception of the burger community to the crew’s pandemic pop-ups, the duo figured that their fledgling enterprise would be a low-key endeavour and, as such, did as much as they could to spread the word of its opening. They needn’t have bothered – locals turned up in droves to get a taste of the crew’s LA-inspired smashed-patty burgers. The demand didn’t relent in the new year, either – lines remain a regular sight out the front of Broken Hearts Morningside, with a large customer base of clientele often returning weekly for a fix. Jay and Chè didn’t anticipate that they’d be expanding at this point in the timeline, either, but here they are – celebrating the official opening of a new Broken Hearts location (its second) at Mango Hill this week. While not actively hunting for a spot to grow, when Morningside manager Dale Hay (a North Lakes local) tipped off the team about a vacant space at Mango Hill Marketplace (formerly home to a Hello Harry location) the team saw an opportunity to take some of the pressure off and expand the brand’s reach in one move.

With much of the essential kitchen equipment and structural bones already in place, taking the site over seemed like a no-brainer choice. The space has undergone some cosmetic modifications, with the crew swapping Hello Harry’s dark palette for Broken Hearts’ bright, family-friendly subway-tiled veneer. The kitchen was bolstered with the addition of a new upright toaster, while digital menu boards were ditched in favour of old-school signage, helping give the joint a retro analogue charm. This simplicity extends to the menu, too, which has come across to Mango Hill in its entirety. Classic hand-smashed burgers remain the foundation of Broken Hearts’ whole operation – Jay’s straightforward and consistent recipe (dissected at length here) is, perhaps, the chief reason that the concept is so darn popular in the first place. While choices are limited to single, double and triple-patty smash burgers, diners can still elect to upgrade their burger with the addition of smashed grilled onion or make it fancy with lettuce, tomato and onion. Regular, cheesy and feisty fries are also on offer, as is a tight list of shakes and soft drinks to wash it all down. In the future, the team is looking to trial special fried-chicken sandwich nights, where pre-sold amounts of Broken Hearts’ take on the two-hander will be available to collect and devour. In the meantime, work will soon commence on Broken Hearts’ third outpost, which is slated to open at Victoria Point Shopping Centre in September.

Broken Hearts Burger Club is now open at Mango Hill Marketplace. Click here for operating hours and other important links.