Posted September 05, 2018in Belly Up To...
Wine bar offers casual vibe in Valley Junction When Kelly Sharp visited her friends in Portland, Oregon, they frequented an intimate, casual place to drink a few glasses of wine and chat. After she returned home, she wanted to share the same atmosphere in Des Moines with her friends. Her options were seemingly
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Posted August 01, 2018in Belly Up To...
Johnston landmark since the 1930s The name The Boat House conjures up a quaint place next to a lake or ocean. Although Saylorville is close, The Boat House in Johnston isn’t off a beach or dock. The Boat House, located on Beaver Drive, is kittycorner to Camp Dodge and the static aircraft display perched
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Posted July 04, 2018in Belly Up To...
Suburban brewery is a throwback to rural Iowa With half of a pickup truck protruding from behind the bar tapper, one might think the beer is coming directly from a leak in the truck. It’s not. But only a few feet away, lagers and ales brew at Barn Town Brewing. A little piece of
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Posted June 06, 2018in Belly Up To...
Top-shelf spirits Overlooking a cornfield just 10 minutes south of Des Moines, the Iowa Distilling Company is in a picture perfect rural setting. The ambiance inside the building is quaint and cozy. It features light-grain wood walls separating the production facility from the bar and craft cocktail lounge. Barrels are on display along with authentic
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Posted May 02, 2018in Belly Up To...
A Windsor Heights neighborhood bar Friday nights at the Ridgemont aren’t necessarily fast, but the drinks poured during happy hour go down quickly. The bar, named after the coming-of-age teen movie, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” is tucked away in Sherwood Forest, a seasoned Windsor Heights strip mall located off
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Posted April 04, 2018in Belly Up To...
Two men and a brewery Fenders Brewing co-owners Jason Madison and Steve Crann say their origin story is “the classic” tale of home brewers who met and started a business together. The two men met through their church, St. Luke’s in Ankeny. The two co-owners — and the company’s only employees — celebrated the grand
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Posted February 28, 2018in Belly Up To...
Get lucky What do you name an Irish pub? The Irish, obviously. In the space formerly occupied by West Cab, the West Glen bar underwent a complete renovation before reopening on March 16, 2017. The Irish celebrates its one year anniversary this month, and the bar plans to celebrate in style for the occasion
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Posted January 31, 2018in Belly Up To...
Boat shoes optional “We used to get boating magazines,” Des Moines Yacht Club co-owner Dirk DeBolt says. Admittedly, the name has caused some confusion outside the city of Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines, Washington, also has a Des Moines Yacht Club — but it is devoted to actual marine craft.
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Posted January 03, 2018in Belly Up To...
The cool dads’ basement The Ducktail Lounge provides an immediate sense of familiarity. It puts you at ease. It seems like a place you’ve been to before, even when you haven’t. The walls are a medium-dark wood with plaid wallpaper, and there is a common theme of duck decorations. The pool table is ready, the
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Posted December 06, 2017in Belly Up To...
South side revamp “We wanted it to be that neighborhood pub that everybody comes to,” co-owner Renee Way says. Originally three separate businesses in one building, Renee Way and husband Clark Way, along with Clark’s sister Stephanie White and her husband, Dan White, purchased the building at 2301 S.W. Ninth St. in 2016. The
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