A long-awaited Zombie Burger has settled downtown.
By Naomi Hofferber
The undead have finally arrived and are now in a restaurant near you.
Zombie Burger, a popular Des Moines restaurant chain, will open its doors today at 108 E. Burlington St.. The food chain offers zombie-theme burgers and shakes in an undead-theme restaurant.
The first Zombie Burger location opened in the East Village of Des Moines in 2011, and the chain has since spread to the Jordan Creek Town Center in Des Moines, Ankeny, and Coral Ridge Mall.
“The original idea came from George Formaro, the chef partner for Zombie Burger,” said Adam Bartelt, the marketing director for Orchestrate Hospitality, a hospitality and management company that manages Zombie Burger. “He wanted to open a small burger restaurant and has had this lifelong love of horror. It led to his wanting to marry the idea of his two loves: cooking, burgers, American classic food, and horror films.”
Orchestrate Hospitality is behind various Des Moines restaurants, a few hotels, and the Zombie Burger franchise.
Each Zombie Burger restaurant displays a mural painted by Ron Wagner, a Des Moines artist, and depicts a zombie scene unique to the cityscape.
“Of all the locations we looked at [to move to], Iowa City was definitely at the top of the list just because of the community itself,” Bartelt said. “The college environment obviously was a big draw for us as well. It’s got that density that we love.”
Bartelt said the company is open to looking at opportunities to offer Zombie Burger through delivery apps such as Order Up in the future.
Zombie Burger will provide a new kind of dining experience in downtown.
“It’s exciting,” said Nate Kaeding, the retail development director for the Downtown District said. “Our downtown has seen a lot of growth in the past five years. With that kind of competition [in the Downtown District], you have to be unique.”
Kaeding said he hopes Zombie Burger, with its late-night availability, will provide a good hangout outside the context of an alcohol setting. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re all really excited,” Kaeding said. “It’s been a great success for Des Moines.”
For Des Moines native and UI freshman Morgan Parker, the food and culture of Zombie Burger is no stranger.
“It used to be an experience,” Parker said. “Every couple of months my mom would be like, ‘We’re going downtown,’ and we’d all get in the minivan and go to Zombie Burger. It was an experience — it added a little bit to the kind of weird culture that Des Moines was trying to build up.”
Parker said the atmosphere of the restaurant was what made it unique, and while the standalone provided that, the mall Zombie Burger was underwhelming. She is excited about the restaurant opening in Iowa City.
“I think it will be really fun,” Parker said. “The aesthetics of both [Iowa City and Des Moines] are very different, but they have a similar vein, which is young people being creative and getting kind of weird.”
