Blimpy Burger is back after a 13-month hiatus.

The 60-year-old burger joint quietly opened Thursday afternoon at 304 S. Ashley St. in the former Eastern Flame restaurant space.

Paper still covers the windows and Blimpy Burger owner Rich Magner said the restaurant is in its soft opening phase while employees are trained and finishing touches are made to the space. Magner plans to remove the paper from the windows on Monday before an official opening sometime next week.

"I still have a lot of stuff to do and I have a few more people to hire," he said.

Magner said he only told construction crews, employees and investors about the soft opening, but some Blimpy Burger fans took notice of the opening Thursday afternoon and trickled through the doors.

"I couldn't wait for this. I've been waiting a long time for Blimpy Burger to reopen," said customer Josh Randall, who noticed people walking into the restaurant Thurdsay afternoon before he ordered a burger.

Blimpy Burger customers will notice some improvements; the ordering line no longer wraps around the seating area and the menu display will be more detailed. Magner hopes to install the menu display in the coming days.

Blimpy Burger quietly opened Thursday afternoon for a soft opening. Paper still covers the windows, and the restaurant will officially open sometime next week.

The number of seats increased from 37 to about 50, and Magner plans to set up a few outdoor tables.



Blimpy Burger will accept credit cards once the restaurant gets its point-of-sales system up and running.

Magner said the menu hasn't changed, but he raised the price of a basic burger from $2.35 to $2.99.

"The last time we raised prices was in 2008," he said. "We had to raise them and it's not because we need to cover construction, it's because we haven't done it since 2008 and food prices have gone up for us."

Magner said customers will still have to order their food before they can take a seat.

"Customers will enter the front door and be directed by sign to line up on the ramp, and we will have some explanation along the ramp of how to order," he said.

Blimpy Burger closed in August 2013 in its original building at 551 S. Division St. 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 is constructing 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.

Magner spent more than eight months looking at real estate in the area before signing a lease for the space on South Ashley Street. The new location is just south of West Liberty Street and the Fleetwood Diner.

Blimpy Burger still serves 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 734-255-2638, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.