Photo by Lauren Sega.

The Los Angeles eatery Burgerim has made its Ohio premiere, with two franchises opening up in Columbus this year. Owned by local entrepreneur Ron Day, signage recently went up for the Downtown location at 121 S. High St., the former home of The Chintz Room. The restaurant and bar, known for its build-your-own burgers, will open there in April.

“I flew to LA to visit my family, and I’d heard about Burgerim, so I ate there and thought it’d be a great concept to bring to Columbus,” Day said. “That’s what everybody’s going to. I don’t want to order a burger and say ‘Take this off’ or ‘Take that off’ when I can just order from scratch with the protein I want. Whatever your garden is, if you want something special on there, jalapeños, pineapples, whatever.”

Along with burgers, Burgerim will offer a menu of wings, salads and subs. The 4,000 square foot space, which splits into two sections — bar on one side, restaurant on the other — will have several TVs for any game-watching, as well as an outdoor dining area.

“I just think the concept is cool for kids, the lunch crowd, of course, and people who just want to hang out Downtown, bring a place to hang out in that area,” Day said. “South High is kind of being revitalized, and there’s a lot of residential down there, so it’s somewhere you can go to watch a football game or other sports event.”

Once open, Burgerim will open for lunch at 11 a.m. and serve until 2 a.m. Day is planning a soft opening for April and a grand opening in early May.

The other Columbus Burgerim location will open at 6599 E. Broad St.

For more information, visit burgerim.com.