The top half of Debbie the zombie is still missing. It was stolen from Zombie Burger + Shake Lab in downtown Iowa City by four very amateur criminals on Saturday afternoon, after they finished eating their burgers.
Instead of being armed and dangerous, these four are suspected of having been drunk and stupid. Apparently they didn’t realize security cameras were recording them the entire time. The one who yanked Debbie’s upper body off her legs may be both the boldest and the least competent of the bunch. He paid for his meal with a credit card.
Debbie and Harry, a pair of zombie mannequins, have served as the restaurant’s mascots since it opened in December.
“We just want Debbie back, we’re not interested in pressing charges,” Zombie Burger manager Doug Tobin told Little Village on Sunday night. “All they have to do is return Debbie, and that’s it.”
So far, there’s been no response. Eager to make Debbie whole again, Zombie Burger is increasing the generosity of its offer of amnesty for the half-a-zombie theft.
“In exchange for her safe return we are offering a Zombie Burger t-shirt and a $100 gift card,” Zombie Burger’s Kelly Marble said in an email to Little Village.
The original “no questions asked” policy still applies. (Except, presumably, for “What size t-shirt do you want?”)
If whoever has Debbie is too embarrassed to set foot in Zombie Burger’s Burlington St. location, Little Village again offers its office at 623 S. Dubuque St. as a safe space for zombie body part returns. The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
