Zombie Burger set to invade Corridor

The zombie invasion is coming.

The Zombie Burger invasion, anyway. The popular Des Moines undead-themed burger and milkshake shop is preparing to open two new locations in the Corridor, one in downtown Iowa City, the other at the Coral Ridge Mall.

Adam Bartelt, marketing director for Orchestrate Hospitality, the restaurant group that owns Zombie Burger, said hopes are for an August opening for the Iowa City location, in a new mixed-use building going up at 229 S. Dubuque Street, between the Mill and the Sheraton Hotel.

The building, owned by S. Dubuque LLC, of which local developer Jeff Clark is a member, will include Zombie Burger and other commercial tenants on the first floor and residential units on upper floors. Additional tenants have not yet been announced. Zombie Burger will be 3,300 with an outdoor patio and will employ around 40 people.

The Coralville Zombie Burger location, in the Coral Ridge Mall food court, is planned to open in September and will be modeled on a Zombie Burger location at the Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines. It will employ around 25 people.

Another location is slated to open in Ankeny in May and will be similar to the planned Iowa City restaurant, Bartelt said. All three new locations will offer quick-service counters and a smaller menu than the flagship location in Des Moines.

'It will be the greatest hits of the East Village location, the best-selling burgers and the ones that make sense,” he said.

The eateries' spiked milkshakes also will be on offer in Iowa City, though not at the Coral Ridge Mall.

Bartelt said the owners are excited to take their restaurant model into the Corridor market, though no additional future expansions are currently in the works.

'We're looking forward to branching outside the Des Moines metro, and we're glad Iowa City is our first stop,” he said.

Paul Rottenberg, Zombie Burger managing partner and president of Orchestrate Hospitality, said Coralville was chosen in part because the company has a good working relationship with General Growth Properties, which owns both the Coral Ridge and Jordan Creek Malls.

'Downtown Iowa City and Coral Ridge Mall offered two complementary locations for Zombie Burger,” he said via email. 'In downtown Iowa City we see an energetic community, density in population across the day and week as well as a nice mix of concentrated activity.”

Nate Kaeding, retail development director for the Iowa City Downtown District, said the announcement has been well received.

'We are certainly excited any time we get a new business, especially one that has that kind of track record and one that's a local Iowa business that's expanding and growing,” he said.

Kaeding said he thought the restaurant's zombie theme would go over well in Iowa City. He said restaurants that do well are often about the experience as well as the food, and Zombie Burger fits that bill.

'It's unique - the design, the decor, the feel of the place,” he said. 'And the food is really good too. I think it will be a really welcome addition.”

Zombie Burger first opened in the East Village in Des Moines in August of 2011. The Orchestrate Family restaurant group also includes Centro, Django, South Union Bread Cafe, Malo and Gateway Market.