Buffets close suddenly

Two popular buffet restaurants recently closed abruptly without giving notice to their workers or customers. Ryan’s Buffet, an all you can eat restaurant in Clive, is closed, and so is Old Country Buffet on Southeast 14th Street in Des Moines. A press release by a mother company in San Antonio read: “Buffets, LLC, comprised of Ryan’s, Fire Mountain, Country Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse and Hometown Buffet, is set to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy so that it can restructure its debts and liabilities, strengthen its operations by closing certain weaker restaurants and recapitalize its business.” Nationally, there are more than 40 Ryan’s eateries that were closed. Both Ryan’s and Old Country have served Des Moines for 20 years or more.

Turn on the tap
The Iowa Taproom and its 120 Iowa craft brews is now open at 215 E. Third St. in Des Moines. The new hotspot specializes in local beer and also features 75 draft beers from around Iowa. Food will also be on tap, with wings, burgers, ribs, steaks and more.

Indian Tadka opens
Indian Tadka, located at 280 W. Hickman Road in Waukee in the old Cozy Cafe location, is now open and serving authentic flavors from India such as goat curry and shrimp masala.

Firehouse Subs opens
A new Firehouse Subs opened recently at 460 S. 68th St. in West Des Moines at the Paradise Pointe retail development. The fast-casual sandwich restaurant serves hot and cold subs, salads and chili. The Firehouse franchise was originally started by brothers and former firemen. The store’s hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Boutique ribbon cutting
Waukee’s Mainstream Boutique, 9500 University Ave., recently held a grand opening at its shop on University Avenue, but the women’s clothing store that boasts unique style has actually been open since November of last year. Mainstream Boutique is a franchise based in Bloomington, Minnesota, that has 70 stores around the country. This is the second in Iowa. The other store is located in Valley Junction in West Des Moines.

Iowa No. 8 in economic development
Iowa ranked eighth in the nation in new economic development projects per capita in 2015, according to the magazine’s 2015 Governor’s Cup rankings. The Governor’s Cup ranks states by the number of economic development projects within its borders that include a minimum capital investment of $1 million, 20 or more new jobs created or 20,000 or more square feet of new space.

New look for Principal
Principal Financial Group is changing its logo. The asset management company is going away from the blue triangle and implementing a graphic with a simple lowercase “p.” The company hopes the change reflects the its focus on helping people make financial progress. The last time the Des Moines-based company changed its look was in 1985.

TasteBuds
TasteBuds Specialty Foods and Cafe is closing its doors for good as of April 1. The Urbandale restaurant and catering business has served the metro for nearly 20 years. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The restaurant is located at 3190 100th St., Urbandale.

No more Village Boutique
Des Moines’ East Village lost the Village Boutique last week. The shop that featured furniture, home accessories and women’s clothing closed for the last time last week, four years after its opening. There is new life for the shop’s interior design business, though, as it will move across the street. The boutique was well known for its Metropolitan Nash, a vintage automobile that was painted pink and white and displayed in the store’s window. CV