Little burgers with lots of unconventional combinations coming to Modesto

What’s better than one burger? How about two burgers or three burgers or, heck, how about a party pack of 16 burgers?

Hungry Modesto residents soon will be able to pick their pack as the new gourmet mini-burger chain BurgerIM comes to the city. The Israeli company launched in 2011 and has been expanding internationally since. They now plan to open a location on North Carpernter Road, next to the Home Depot.

The concept is to give diners a fully customizable burger experience on a smaller scale. Each burger has a 3-ounce patty, instead of the 4-ounces of meat in a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder or Burger King Whopper. But it is all the variations where BurgerIM hopes to set itself apart.

BurgerIM Regional Marketing Manager Zach Volpo said the chain offers 11 different kinds of patties, three kinds of buns, five different sauces and a nine “unconventional” toppings. What kind of unconventional combos can you make? Well, you could get a lamb patty on a whole wheat bun with horseradish sauce. Other patty types include regular beef, dry-aged beef, Wagyu beef, spicy beef, Spanish beef, turkey, chicken, salmon, veggie and falafel. You can top it off with jalapenos, bleu cheese, avocado, a fried egg and more.

BurgerIM also offers starters like chicken wings and strips and a potato-filled bonanza of potato-based sides including their signature round French fries, sweet potato fries and home fries in sauce — plus onion rings for the spud-adverse. For those looking for more healthful options they have three different sorts of salads. But, come on, you’re going to a place with “burger” in the name.

And about that name — it comes from the Hebrew word for “burgers.” But, if you talk to some company folks they’ll also tell you it stands for “IMpressive” or “IMpossibly delicious.” They sell their burgers in boxes of one, two, three or 16 — and if you can take down the latter all by yourself I would agree that’s IMpressive.

Volpo said the Modesto BurgerIm is slated to open sometime this fall or winter. He did not know how many employees the new store would need, but signs will be posted on the site when they begin hiring.

The company is expanding aggressively into the United States. Volpo said they currently have more than 60 locations and are projected to have 150 by the end of the year. Some 90 locations are listed as “Coming Soon” in California on the company’s website. The chain already has locations in Sacramento and Fresno and plans to open one in Tracy as well.

The new BurgerIM is slated to open at 1521 N. Carpenter Building F. For more information visit www.burgerim.com.

Elsewhere on the Business Beat:

The long, slow saga of the Cobblestone Bakery seems to have come to its final chapter.

After a more than year-long delay in opening and then only five months of actual business, the downtown Modesto bakery on 11th Street now has a “For Lease” sign on its windows. Owner Gerit Sand had vowed to bring the bakery back when he last spoke to The Bee in May, with a reopen date no later than Aug. 1. But this week the lease signs went up and the property is listed via PMZ Commercial.

Sand did an extensive renovation on the 4,250-square-foot space before opening. But the business was plagued by bad reviews during its run from August to December of 2017. The space has been largely dark since then, but Sand said he continued to bake out of its kitchen for his business with Bay Area farmers markets. No word yet on who might be interested in the location, but I’ll keep you posted.

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This story was originally published July 21, 2018 at 4:02 PM.