Expect long lines of comedy nerds and burger freaks outside Bebe Zito this weekend.
Gabriella Grant and Ben Spangler have no clue how Bob's Burgers picked their Minneapolis burger/ice cream restaurant. After the wife/husband co-owners received a cold email from the show's marketing team, they learned a scout had even vetted the shop to confirm "that it's real."
"They wanted to work with a local business that does burgers," Grant says. "I don’t know if someone suggested us or what, but it was definitely the weirdest email to get!"
That means, in official collaboration with The Bob's Burger Movie, Bebe Zito's storefront at 704 W. 22nd St. will be transformed into the cartoon burger joint all Memorial Day weekend. True to the show, there'll be a pop-up "Burger of the Day" menu with punny specials—Bruschetta-bout It Burger (Saturday), Texas Chainsaw Massa-Curd Burger (Sunday), Bet It All on Black [Garlic] Burger (Monday).
"It’ll be the Bebe burger with their twist on it, their marketing and flavor ideas," Spangler explains. "The branding around the packaging will be Bob’s Burgers.”
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Grant says the staff will be dressed up and the shop will feature "silly" Bob's-specific décor. There'll be a limited ice cream sandwich beginning Saturday, as well as a giveaway contest to score a $50 Bebe Zito gift card plus four passes to the movie, which premieres Friday.
"Bob's Burgers is our go-to at night now; we’re re-watching the series to get in the spirit," Grant says. "I love that it’s funny, family-friendly, and there are jokes for parents, too."
Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard was already comedy-nerd royalty when the show debuted on Fox in 2011—he'd co-created the cult-loved series Home Movies a decade earlier. But Bob's would prove to have much wider appeal while not sacrificing the understated, hilarious sensibilities that informed his previous work. The feature-film spinoff currently has a sizzling 91% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Guardian's Scott Tobias writing:
"It functions elegantly as both a victory lap for longtime fans and a belated introduction to the Belchers, a family of lovable misfits and cranks that’s as genuinely close as any on television."
Get your close-knit, cranky misfit family down to Bebe Zito to fully manifest the Bob's Burgers mindset.
With additional reporting from Em Cassel, who's on vacation and very missed around the ol' cyber office.
