The smash-burger chain with a location at 6810 Louetta Rd. in Spring is about to get bigger. Trill Burgers will open its fourth area restaurant at Rice University on Monday, Aug. 17, according to a Rice University news release published Thursday, July 30.

The Rice Memorial Center location joins the Spring outpost, a Montrose flagship on South Shepherd Drive and a Missouri City store on Fort Bend Parkway. A fifth spot at 7616 Westheimer Rd. in Houston is also in the works, though no opening date has been set.

For Spring diners who already line up on Louetta Road, the expansion signals that co-founders Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, restaurateur Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield are betting big on the brand they launched from pop-ups in 2021.

"This is truly full circle for me. To bring this brand to Rice University where I once taught is a major moment for Trill Burgers and for myself," Freeman said in the Rice news release. He served as a distinguished lecturer at Rice in 2011, 2013 and 2015, co-teaching a course on religion and hip-hop culture.

The Rice location will operate 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the fall and spring semesters and is open to the general public. It will also accept Rice campus dining dollars. That's a tighter schedule than the Spring restaurant, which runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.

Beth Leaver, Rice's assistant vice president of housing, dining and hospitality, said the partnership fills a gap in the university's dining options and builds on the school's existing relationship with Freeman.

Trill Burgers earned the title of best burger in America from "Good Morning America" in 2022 for its OG Trill Burger, a double smashed-patty stack with pickles, caramelized onions, Trill Sauce and American cheese on a Martin's potato roll. The brand also served more than 41,000 burgers in 20 days at the 2023 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, winning a Gold Buckle Foodie Award.

The chain will return to NRG Stadium this fall for a fourth consecutive season at Houston Texans games, according to KHOU.

Spring's Louetta Road location remains the brand's only outpost north of I-610. No additional locations in the Spring or north Harris County area have been announced.