Jamie Farrington at Lachele’s Fine Foods
2/4/2026
Jamie Farrington is a chef/mortgage broker who is opening The Rabbit Room in Johnston Feb. 9. To our minds, only a deep Romantic would open a wine bar devoted to the works of The Inklings, an early 20th century gang of Oxford professors who met regularly in the back room of The Eagle and Child Pub. C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien led the group when they were not creating wondrous worlds and underworlds of imagination and romance.
Since this is the month of Romance, we asked Farrington to lunch, and he chose Lachele’s Fine Food, a bustling burger joint with two Des Moines stores serving smash burgers of exceptional quality. Over burgers, fries, tots and real sugar soft drinks, we talked about Farrington’s wine/coffee bar, The Inklings and Romance in all its magnificent nuances.
Very few people are familiar with Tolkien or Lewis, other than the Peter Jackson movies of the former’s “Ring” trilogy and the Broadway hit of the latter’s “Screwtape Letters,” which is coming to Hoyt Sherman in March. What led Farrington to this moment?
“After high school, I spent six years in the Navy, then moved to Oklahoma. My intention was to transfer to Iowa State and study veterinarian medicine. But, some of my credits didn’t transfer to ISU, so I went to Des Moines Area Community College to retake the basic credits. While there, I became interested in the Iowa Culinary Institute (ICI) and transferred there to become a chef.
“After ICI, I worked at Bistro Montage, Gateway Market, Gusto and Sodexho at the Principal. I always worked more than one job because I have three children. Then, along came COVID and its massive layoffs. I got my mortgage license, but along came 9% inflation. No one was refinancing, and not many could afford to buy homes. I worked for Midwest Ambulance as a dispatcher, for Stoney Creek Inn and at Wine Styles for Allan and Gina Graham. They were ready to retire and helped me find a way to buy the store.”
Where did the idea to combine wine with books come from?
“I have always been an avid reader. My wife, a poet, and I took a trip with the boys to Iceland. In Reykjavik, we found a wine bar that was also a book store. I loved it.”
F. Scott Fitzgerard, a great Romantic, said that sentimental people always believe that things will change but Romantics have a “desperate confidence that they won’t.” Book stores have been disappearing rapidly since the rise of big block stores like Barnes & Noble, and then Amazon. How do you buck those odds?
“I think the store needs versatility. We will open in the early morning for coffee, close and reopen for wine late afternoon. The books are not for sale but to stimulate conversation. I want people to take them off the shelves and read them. I will pair wine with small dishes, and I will have ice cream. I have been told by many that my homemade ice cream is exceptional.”
Those are very long hours.
“We will open at 6 a.m. till 10 in the morning. Then close and reopen at 3 p.m. till 10 p.m. I like the quiet times. I am often sleepless.”
The recent death of Rob Reiner resurrected movies like “Sleepless in Seattle.” That recalls the Meg Ryan character’s situational hypocrisy. She played an independent book store owner who considered big chains to be evil. Yet she was frequently running off for coffee — at Starbucks.
“We pigeon hole ourselves into what we like and consume things that restrict us. There is a whole other world out there. Books and conversation can open doors to it. That’s why I like to always try a different wine, or take a different wine to friends each time I visit. I have always tried to be open to new experiences, at least since high school when I gave up vegetarianism. I want to push myself and maybe others into new comfort zones — of wine, food, books and ideas.”
How do you push a new wine, or idea on people?
“Allan was great at reading people. He was so good at it that they trusted him with judgments — wine choices for starters — because they thought he knew what they would like as well as they did. At Gateway, customers would come in looking for Abbe (‘The Wine Lady’ Davidson) because they trusted her. It took time before they would ask for me. Trust like that opens doors to new experiences. That’s a premise to the store.”
Books are a key part of The Rabbit Room furnishings. What kind of books will Farrington stock?
“I am building that library. It’s not easy with the internet having taken down the used book store world. I will have the Harvard Classics and the World Book set. They are references that provide more depth than an AI search. I am shooting for about 500 books with strengths in literary classics and fiction. But, I will also have books of more precise interest — ‘Agriculture Practices of the 1940’s,’ the ‘History of Keokuk County.’ ”
Keokuk County is curious in that it does not include Keokuk the city.
“Yes, and Des Moines County is home to Keokuk but nowhere near Des Moines.”
What kind of events does Farrington have planned for The Rabbit Room?
“A book of the day discussion. Story telling time — people telling or reading stories is such a comfort. That’s why it is popular in nursing homes and general therapy. Bible Studies, because the Bible is a collection of paradigms — all great stories. Bottom line, I want to bring people together. Discussion and debate can do that when they are civil.”
Wine keeps things civil, at least compared to whiskey. Because Farrington is opening in February, we had to ask him about Romance. What are his favorite romantic novels?
“ ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Jane Eyre’ must top any list. But Tolkien’s Ring Cycle is my favorite. Lúthien is the daughter of the elf king Thingol and the goddess Melian. Beren is human. Yet, she gives up her immortality to be with him. I cried when I read that, and I cried when I saw that Tolkien and his wife are buried with tombstones that refer to them as ‘Lúthien’ and ‘Beren,’ their nicknames for each other.” ♦
Jim Duncan is a food and art writer who has been covering the central Iowa scene for more than five decades.
