CEO Maria Rivera has ambitious plans to lead this brand from its current six locations to over 400 via franchising. The former Krispy Kreme president has also held roles with TGI Fridays, Logan's Roadhouse, Darden Restaurants and The Walt Disney Company.

Smalls Sliders uses premium beef for its products. That said, the menu is small and focused — cheeseburger sliders, fries, milkshakes, drinks — and is expected to stay that way.

The company is decoupling its supply chain from Walk-On’s and putting a supply chain team in place to buy its products further out and hedge and “make sure we’re keeping our costs consistent and bringing them down.”

Smalls Sliders is very much trying to appeal to younger consumers — Gen Z, specifically — as it expands. Rivera said the brand is striving to be “Instagrammable,” “punchy,” “clever” and “in your face.” The company’s final pieces — a full website redesign, an app, a CRM platform — should support this goal and are expected to be in place by the end of the first quarter. From there, it’s full speed ahead.