Major retailers coming to Jordan Creek

Michael Kors and Anthropologie will open stores in Jordan Creek Town Center in late fall and spring. The national retailers have signed leases and will occupy the adjoining spaces on the mall’s first floor formerly occupied by Victoria’s Secret and Coldwater Creek. Michael Kors sells clothing and accessories for both men and women, and Anthropologie sells women’s clothing and home goods. Jordan Creek is currently reconfiguring the store spaces to fit the new tenants, with Michael Kors expected to fill the former Victoria’s Secret space and Anthropologie to fill the former Coldwater Creek and the back of the Victoria’s Secret area. Victoria’s Secret moved into a larger space upstairs, while Coldwater Creek closed after the company filed for bankruptcy last year.

Third Java Joes opens in metro

Another Java Joes CoffeeHouse has come to the metro. Owner Amy Brehm converted a former Kum & Go convenience store at 4944 Douglas Ave. into a coffee shop with a drive-thru window and patio. The Douglas Avenue location will offer lunch and dinner items, and it will feature items from Brehm’s Ankeny bakery, CJs Bagels and Topped Doughnuts. Brehm has owned Java Joe’s for nine years, but the coffeehouse has been around since 1992. The original is located at 214 Fourth St. in downtown Des Moines, and the second is located in the DART Central Station at 620 Cherry St. in Des Moines and opened in 2013. The new Java Joes is open 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Call 528-8071 or find it on Facebook.

Metro to get three more Taco Bells

Michigan-based franchisee Sundance Inc. announced plans to build three new Taco Bell restaurants in the metro: one in Des Moines and two in Ankeny. The Des Moines location is under construction at 4875 Merle Hay Road, at the former Daytona’s All Sports Café that closed last year. The Ankeny restaurants will be located at 1850 N. Ankeny Blvd. and 715 S.E. Oralabor Road. The Merle Hay store is expected to open in mid-July, while the North Ankeny Boulevard location is set to open at the end of August and the Oralabor Road location hasn’t yet started construction. Sundance Inc. owns another store on 22nd Street in West Des Moines, and it is also opening Taco Bells in Carroll, Pella and Oskaloosa. At least five other Taco Bell restaurants in the metro are owned by other franchisees.

New restaurant opens in Ankeny

The Bear Restaurant and Wine Bar opened recently at 302 S.W. Maple St. in Uptown Ankeny, in the building that formerly housed Bear’s Restaurant. Josh Madden is the new owner, and chose to keep “Bear” in the name as a nod to the previous restaurant, which had been there for 43 years before closing in 2010. Since then, Number 7 Brewing Co. operated in the space for about two years and then closed. Madden also owns Benchwarmers. He described the new restaurant as casual fine dining, with items such as grilled oysters, chicken sandwiches, pasta and duck on the menu. The Bear Restaurant has 35 wines, as well as a selection of appetizers and desserts. Chris Nash, the chef for the restaurant, was previously the co-chef at Exile Brewing Co. in Des Moines. The Bear Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch on Monday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. for appetizers, and 5-10 p.m. for dinner Tuesday through Friday; and 5-11 p.m. Saturday. It is closed on Sundays. Call 965-4497 or find it on Facebook.

Fareway planned for Merle Hay Road

Fareway Inc. announced plans to build a 20,735-square-foot store at 6005 Merle Hay Road in Johnston. The location is currently vacant and lies north of Van Dee’s Ice Cream Shoppe. The proposal for the grocery store includes a new architectural design for the company, according to Fareway Vice President and General Counsel Garrett Piklapp. The building’s exterior would be brick, and it would have an elevated ceiling at the entrance. The project is expected to be considered by the Johnston Planning and Zoning Commission at its June 29 meeting, and the Johnston City Council is expected to review site plans on July 6. If approved, construction could begin this fall and open in early fall of 2016. CV