Shortly before press time came the announcement of a succession plan for Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger, the quick-service stalwart known for affordable smashburgers served with a side of attitude.
Longtime owner Rich Magner, designer of their bear logo, passed away last March. In 1992 he took over the business founded by Jim Shafer in 1953 on S. Division. It moved to 304 S. Ashley in 2014 to make way for U-M’s Munger Graduate Residences.
The Magner family has passed the baton to a new partnership group of Noah and Ethan Kaplan, brothers whose interests include Leon Speakers, Mothfire Brewing Company, and York Food & Drink; Pete Levin of Joe’s Pizza and BO’s Bagels on South University; and veteran culinarian Doug Botsford, whose most recent venture was the seafood truck Juicy Oistre.
Botsford will be the hands-on operator, aiming to keep Blimpy Burger’s “classic soul” alive, while adding Mothfire beers, late-night hours, digital ordering, and off-site events, according to their news release. Now closed for renovations, they expect to reopen by the end of May.
Flashback: I Spy: Blimpy Burger