Crazy Jim's Widow Sells, Blimpy's Must Move.
Ann Arbor.com, HT Andrew Fine.
"Krazy" Jim Shafer was the longtime owner of Blimpy's. Today it's owned and operated by Rich Magner but Jim's widow sold the property (including my mother's house in college) to the university.
They're not going to close but they have to move:
“I don’t know what the plans are,” Magner said. “But basically, in a nutshell, we will be able to operate in this location into summer 2013 and we will be trying to put a deal together and look for a new location.” Magner worked at Blimpy Burger in 1969 when he was a student. After working in other restaurants, he returned to Blimpy Burger and purchased the business in 1993.
Finding a place on campus is gonna be tough. For anyone who ever lived on the south side of campus, having the answer to your hangover just a few blocks away was the most important thing.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
Blame it on Guy Fieri. Getting featured on his Triple D show is the kiss of death.
December 7th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
Actually its usually quite the opposite. A local hotdog place near me was featured and gets a bump in traffic everytime after the re-run airs (and had huge lines after the initial showing)
His NYC restaurant on the other hand...
December 6th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
I blame cholesterol tests. I got pissed when my last blood test showed elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. Then I realized it was all my fault for living off of blimpy and BTB. Even marathon running couldn't clean my arteries of Krazy Jim's.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
in comparison to 5 Guys? More importantly, have the prices risen much in the past couple of years? That could be a reason for the reduction in quality you notice. I know that rising corn prices have helped increase beef prices across the board (i.e- for all cuts of beef, not just tenderloin or sirloin). I was just talking to the manger of the meat dept at my local Giant Eagle and he told me that prices on red meat have seen an average increase of 30% across the board in the last year alone.
Maybe they figure what with having so many budget minded college students around, they were better off maintaining prices and sacrificing some quality in the process.
My father in law (who was a deli owner/ baker for 30 some odd years) said one of the reasons he decided to bail was because of the meteoric rise of flour prices. He said he could have raised prices or started skimping, but after 30 plus years, he just decided to pull the eject handle, rather than let his legacy suffer at the end due to reduced quality standards.
The restaurant business is tough, even for the "institutions"
As an aside- are we done with stories about travels through Korea? I found those very entertaining. You spin quite a yarn, sir.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:53 PM ^
I normally pay about a dollar fifty less at Blimpy than I do at Five Guys, but at FG I get fries. Blimpy is just for the burger and soda. That definitely could be part of it. If you load up a Blimpy you can easily blow by FG prices. I think you're on to something with the meat though. These days it comes outs so dry at Blimpie.
I have a couple China stories actually in the back from my honeymoon and I might go with them in the offseason. Also I'm going to Korea in January which will give me plenty of chances to do stupid shit and generate new fodder. I tend to wait until the board is dead to post though. If the diary section starts to die off after Signing Day and/or the NCAA tourney I'll write something up. Right now though we have a lot of on topic diaries and I don't want to be bumping real content. I'm more of the monkey rodeo during the 7th inning stretch thing.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:19 PM ^
Don't order bo-shin-tang from a hole-in-the-wall in Seoul. Do eat all the Ho-dduk you find when walking on the street. Perfect for 'brisk' winter days.
Last time I went to Blimpy's, I thought it was ok, not great. Had a triple with cheese and a fried egg. Just didn't seem to be the same (probably because I wasn't 20, drunk, and high). I would compare it to a Royal Red Robin, minus the screaming kids with balloons.
A bigger question is, will that ground qualify for a EPA brownfield grant due to the decades of grease that has been building up there.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:44 PM ^
When in Korea, my friend Sum Dum Fuk highly recommends trying the yung ho's.
December 6th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^
har har not very original. Are you 12?
December 8th, 2012 at 6:37 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 5:52 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 4:06 PM ^
We need the guy who tried to organize the protest at Schembechler Hall after the OSU game to do the same outside of Mary Sue's house for this.
edit: Hopefully refreshments will still be served.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
And pie. Don't forget the pie. That's what pushed me into joining the protest remotely from here in NC.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:16 PM ^
I've been told it's practically a requirement for Michigan students to participate in a protest or rally before they graduate. This might be my opportunity.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^
Dang....another piece of my college experience about to go. To put it in perspective when I was on campus I was a bouncer at the Village Bell, used to drink at Dooley's and then eat off the hangover at either Blimpie's or bfast at Angelos. And you used to take your dates to the Prretzel Bell cause it was nice and not that expensive.
Oh yes and Bo was coaching.
Next thing you know their going to change the AA law whereby possession of less than 2 ounces of pot is a $5.00 fine. I'm sure that'll never happen though......
December 6th, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^
the fine is $15.00. Inflation man, inflation.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
I spent WAAAAAAaaaayyyyy too much time at Dooleys. My late night drunk feast was Taco Bell over by Ricks or Pizza Bob's. I also remember the Pretzel Bell. I think that closed when I was a sophomore.
I also remember the Tangerine Ballroom, but I never went in there. I don't dance and suffer from a horrible fashion sense.
And I remember eating at Liberty Pizza, and the entire basketball team was there with Bill Freider. I remember there was an extraordinary number of fur coats on the chairs.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
Lamplighter also had it's fair share of hoop dreams, pics, Thad Gardner, etc.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^
Ah the days when you could get a real gyro in Ann Arbor (anyone who claims Pita Pit is a real gyro will be hunted and killed for the good of the species).
December 6th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^
Ahmo's gyro makes me wish I was back in Ann Arbor. Damn you Texas, no coney's, no gyros, Deerborn ham, AHHHH IM SO HUNGRY!
December 6th, 2012 at 6:01 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 9:34 PM ^
They just opened one of those in Toledo, right by the UT campus. It'll be interesting to see if they can again prey on the college crowd. My guess would be failure because there's actually a large number of authentic middle eastern resturants in Toledo. None quite that close to campus, though.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
Roy Tarpley and Antoine Joubert used to hang out at Lamplighter.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
...shocked that Thano's is gone. It was maybe 2005(?) when I walked past and it was closed up and I think my jaw hit the sidewalk. Never thought I'd see that.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:11 PM ^
Lamplighter Pizza after a Michigan-Rice game with my dad is the earliest memory I have of Ann Arbor.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^
Wasn't it the Nectarine Ballroom? How about Steve's Lunch, Drake's, Pizza House when it was just a little frame house, and Zingerman's as a one building restaurant with three tables in the front window?
December 6th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
I miss Drakes.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
December 7th, 2012 at 3:14 AM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 6:28 PM ^
God this is depressing.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:52 PM ^
was a classic rock kinda bar before that. kind of like dooleys but they had a stage for bands.
joe's star lounge used to be down the street at main too. long since gone. ah progress.
December 7th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^
Miller's Ice Cream on S. University before it became the wasteland that it is today - cheap, huge servings that made eating with a beard a trip to barbarianism.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^
Jim Delany killing more B1G tradition...
December 6th, 2012 at 4:50 PM ^
is a big burger guy, and I bet when he hears about this he will not be happy at all.
He and Borges should be able to convince Brandon to stop this "take down".
After the Bret Bielema fiasco, Hoke should be able to get whatever he wants.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
I read about Blimpy's earlier today on Facebook. From a similar source, I've heard that the University has plans to demolish the Ruthven Natural History Museum and build a large biology building in its place. A merger of "two biology departments" would follow.
Does anyone here have know anything solid about that? The only things I've been able to find online mention muesum renovations, the demolition of some med school buildings, and the acquisition of the Pfizer campus.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:06 PM ^
They must - must- find another location. They cannot simply fold. Blimpy's is legendary.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:09 PM ^
I am having a hard time figuring out which is worse - Blimpy's being forced to move or the Michigan legislature fast-tracking "right to work" legislation.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:13 PM ^
C) The above post
December 6th, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 5:56 PM ^
a sad day for the University, we need to protest.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^
...lots of memories on this thread. Another thing that I have a hard time fathoming is the closure of all the record stores. It used to be one of my favorite ways to kill an hour between classes by browsing through music and magazines.
So weird to think that the kids in school today are missing out on so much only to have it replaced by facebook & twitter.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:15 PM ^
LOVE record stores. I don't actually buy records there, but I'll grab a band shirt or something when I'm in there
December 6th, 2012 at 8:55 PM ^
borders books...when it was on state street.
December 6th, 2012 at 9:14 PM ^
...I used to love hanging out at Tower, Wherehouse, and Wazoo between classes, or going down to get the hot new releases at midnight. The best part was that all three stores had their own unique character and space to hang out in. It also sucks that the Borders at Liberty and Maynard is gone. I used to love hanging out there as well.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
MOAR matlab code!
December 6th, 2012 at 6:35 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 7:05 PM ^
the Lamplighter was virtually the de facto training table for the hoops team. That's probably one reason why Antoine Joubert got so round—deep dish may be tasty, but it's a calorie nuclear bomb.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:44 PM ^
Quad with ultimate cheese, fried egg, on an onion roll... need an antacid just typing this.
Thanks to those who reminded me of Steve's Lunch and Drakes. Great, great times!
I roomed with a hoops player and yes Thano's was a hangout thanks to Perry Porikos who I believe still is part owner of the Brown Jug and other places in town.