Related story: Blimpy Burger owner: Same menu, better experience at the new location

It's official: Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger has found a new home in downtown Ann Arbor.

Owner Rich Magner signed a lease to reopen the 60-year-old burger joint at 304 S. Ashley St., in the former Eastern Flame restaurant space.

The goal is to open the restaurant in late June.

"We are thrilled to move into this downtown location that will offer you an honest-to-goodness alternative to the high end dining while still fulfilling your big game day fix," a news release says.

Blimpy Burger plans to reopen this summer on South Ashley Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

Magner was notified in late 2012 that he would need to vacate the former Blimpy Burger building at 551 S. Division St. when his lease expired in August 2013. Patricia Shafer, the property's long-time owner and wife of Blimpy Burger's original founder, Jim Shafer, sold the property to the University of Michigan for $1.075 million in December.

U-M plans to construct a 600-bed graduate student dormitory on the former Blimpy Burger site and neighboring properties.

Before Blimpy Burger closed, the restaurant hosted "Blimpy Last Supper" events, where people could purchase $100 tickets to have a final meal in the building. Magner also raised $20,396 from 472 contributors on crowdfunding website Indiegogo to help reopen Blimpy Burger.

There will be an appreciation dinner for the Last Supper attendees in late June or mid July, the news release says.

Magner spent more than eight months looking at real estate in the area. He was negotiating a lease for a different space, but that spot became unavailable.

"We have had some bumps along the road," the news release says. "For many months we were working towards moving to a different location, but just as the finish line was in sight, this location became unavailable and the search began anew."

"Serendipitously, 304 S. Ashley (the Eastern Flame restaurant space) became available again and we feel it was worth the wait," it continues.

The location at 304 S. Ashley St. is just south of West Liberty Street and the Fleetwood Diner.

The interior of the new Blimpy Burger will be different, but it will have the restaurant's original tables and chairs.

Blimpy Burger will still serve its popular burgers made with beef ground fresh daily. Customers can customize burgers with extra meat and a range of toppings, including the popular fried egg.

Blimpy Burger has received national attention as one of the best burger joints in America via the Travel Channel, and it was also featured on Man V. Food. Blimpy Burger also made MLive's Michigan's Best Burger Top 10 list.

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at 734-623-2584, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.