What does Zippy’s have to say about game-day?

The 20-something-foot metal marquee sign outside of Zippy’s Burritos Tacos & More is not afraid to say what everyone else in Baton Rouge is thinking. And for that, the Perkins Road restaurant has become a can’t-miss part of Baton Rouge culture. Especially in early November, when LSU plays ‘Bama.

“There is some public discord about it. People are like, ‘You’ve gotta take that down,‘” Zippy’s owner Neal Hendrick told 225 last year. “If you don’t like that kind of humor, then we’re probably not the kind of place you’ll have fun eating at.”

The Zippy’s sign, which is changed out every few days with new quips, has been making people laugh for 22 years. In the beginning, Hendrick wrote the jabs, and soon his staff and the community began weaving their ideas into the mix. Today, the public offers suggestions, too.

“I think we’d have a serious issue if we got rid of (the sign),” says Ben Phillips, Zippy’s assistant manager. “It’s definitely a core piece of who we are.”

Louis Mykoff, Zippy’s general manager, has a group chat with his friends and family where they throw around ideas for the sign. He said he’ll occasionally ask his sister, who works in public relations, if an idea is too edgy.

But Zippy’s isn’t trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, Hendrick says. The signs intentionally do not target anyone who is not already a public figure. But those who are—like a head football coach, for instance—should expect to get picked on a bit.

In modern days, Zippy’s has considered swapping the sign for a digital version but ultimately decided to keep its old-school look instead. And locals, it seems, are just fine with that.

“When I put up the sign… before I could even get a picture for our social media, there were people stopping and taking pictures,” Mykoff says. Find Zippy’s on Facebook

This article was originally published in the September 2023 issue of 225 magazine.