Blaine Cook owner of Zippy’s Giant Burgers is hard at work at his new location at 9614 14th Ave s.w. in White Center prepping the kitchen, the walls, the floors and getting anxious about the impending move of his popular restaurant to larger quarters.

The cement floors of the 1600 sq. foot space have been ground down and are being refinished, new partial walls have been built, treated and painted in appealing colors and Cook has worked out, "the flow" as he describes it.

A former teacher, Cook explained that in a classroom you have to lay out the space for maximum efficiency so for Zippy's he's set up the order station, the milk shake station, a place to get other items, the all important bottled soda pop. "We've been approached by the guys who want us to sell fountain drinks but that's just not Zippy's," Cook explained, "That's about just dollars and we're really about the experience." He's also interested in having a "photo booth" style machine in the restaurant.

The space will sport four booths along one wall with a larger booth "sort of like a breakfast nook" at the opposite end. Tables and chairs will come in too and pinball machines are part of the plan. Ceiling fans are on order.

As of April 1 the fire suppression system on the hood in the kitchen needs some work so that's delaying things just a little.

The plan is to close the original location in Highland Park on Saturday, April 16 (with a small employee only gathering) and then open the new space April, 25.

He's leaving somewhat wistfully. "We're such a part of that neighborhood, it's kind of sad. I'd like to still be up there if I had my choice (...) but we're ready to go. I've already started to take away that place and on that last day we'll probably be open until 3:00 or 4:00 and have the least amount of food on hand because everything we use is fresh."

What will Zippy's addicts do until the new location opens? "I don't know," said Cook," they're going to have to go on a diet." But he did say, "I'm fond of the La Fondita Taco Truck."

Cook has heard criticism of his burgers but wants people to know that, "I'm not a chef that decided to make hamburgers. I'm not an ex-Starbucks or Microsoft executive that's cashed out my stock. We're truly a mom and pop business. (...) We're just hoping that what we've got down on paper is going to work."

He doesn't consider his product "gourmet" but said, "I think that our burger is as gourmet as any place that calls themselves gourmet. Most places it's a pre-made patty and with the 100% chuck we use, we don't have to add stuff into it."

To arrive at their particular formula, Cook said they did extensive testing for a month of trial and error with friends working out the combinations that would finally come together as the final product. "It seems like it's a simple thing but are you doing chopped lettuce or shredded lettuce or whole leaf. Are the pickles on the bottom or on the top? It's all something we thought about. We had seven different recipes for our secret sauce."

Cook has managed to get popular and stay that way because he said, "We're owner operated, we care about what we're making and it's not all about the dollars."