Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger
Blimpy Burger was already shut when WEMU reported it on 18 March 2026. Richard Magner died, his family is handing the stand over, and Noah Kaplan says the grill and the art stay while draft lines go in.1
Why go
You cannot eat here yet. Blimpy's has been an Ann Arbor institution since 1953 and calls itself the city's oldest hamburger stand, though not on this corner: the University of Michigan bought the old building, and the stand held its grand opening at 304 S. Ashley in October 2014.4 Its own About page still calls S. Ashley our new location.
5 The new partners are rebuilding around what the old operation could not do. Kaplan is blunt about it: They weren't equipped to be able to do modern business, like takeout, delivery, DoorDash, all of those services.
1 He is keeping the grill, the staff and Magner's art, and adding beer.1 When it worked, the counter ran on a script. You decided patty count, cheese, bun and fries or rings before you got to the front, and the stand published a page explaining the order.2
Order this / avoid
- Order, when it reopens: the double cheeseburger with onion rings. The Infatuation's instruction is
No condiments, no extra meat, and no frills.
2 - Avoid: walking down there now. The grill is cold and the target is football season.1
What locals & experts say
- Noah Kaplan, new partner, to WEMU, 18 March 2026:
We're also going through and like kind of perfecting and re-detailing it, and then bring in some draft lines, so we could serve some ice-cold beer.
1 - Bella Simonte, The Infatuation, 23 October 2025, before the closure:
The name of the game here is decisiveness.
2
Good to know
- Closed for renovation, with the ownership transfer still being finalised when WEMU published in March 2026.1
- Pre-closure hours, for whenever it comes back: 11am to 9pm Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday, 11am to 10pm Friday and Saturday, closed Monday.3
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "A quirky and unpretentious greasy spoon burger bar with an emphasis on fried food." The rings and the script are the parts the new owners say they are keeping.
Verdict
listed — Nobody can eat here, so sending you would be a promise the locked door cannot keep. Blimpy's has been an Ann Arbor institution since 1953, moved to S. Ashley in 2014 when the University bought its old building, and The Infatuation still ran it in the city list a few months before the shutdown. Then Richard Magner died, the family began transferring the business, and Noah Kaplan closed the room to put in draft lines and delivery while keeping the grill, the staff and Magner's art. Nobody has eaten the new version, so there is nothing yet to judge it on. Check whether it reopened; if the same grill comes back with the same order line, this moves.