Johnny Krohn at Ruth’s Chris Steak House
4/30/2025
Johnny Krohn is the smiling face of hospitality in Des Moines. If you are in business and need to impress clients, or if you just want to do something special for friends or family, he is “the guy.”
We asked him to lunch and met in his “office” at the Ruth’s Chris’ two-story, 15,000-square-feet, 450-seat, four-dining room, two-bar, largest in its system presence in West Des Moines.
“I call this my office because it’s where I do some of my best work,” he explained of the board room/wine cellar where we met.
It is my custom when a chef or host suggests ordering for me, I surrender completely to their expertise. So over “a red, a white and some apps,” we talked about hospitality, restaurants and wine.
How does Krohn describe his job?
“My official title is Wine Program Consultant, but I stress that I am not a certified sommelier. I am ‘the wine guy.’ Many of the smartest wine people I have met are not certified.”
Krohn’s reputation gives the lie to certification. After all, Hammurabi never got a law degree, but Saddam Hussein did. So, what were we drinking? Trebbiano is one of the most widely planted wine grapes in the world. It doesn’t age particularly well and is thus one of the most challenging varieties to explore. Krohn loves challenge.
“This is a 2022 Lorenzo Mattoni Trebbiano from Umbria. I think it’s really special, and it’s not expensive. (We found it priced $23-$57 on an internet search despite Wine Enthusiast rating it their “Editor’s Choice.”)
“The part of my job I love best is finding value. I am aware that a business meeting in this room is business. Important decisions are being argued and made. Clients do not need to have a dozen people making decisions about what to eat and drink. They trust me to do that for them so they are freed to decide what matters most to them.
“Aldous Huxley said that a man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will’s freedom after it. I respect that and do nothing to contradict it.”
What are the limits to which Krohn will go to encourage that change of mind?
“I am also very aware that my business clients all have to answer to their CFOs (chief financial officers). If I sell a table 15 $300 bottles at lunch, it can get an unfavorable reaction by the accountants, and I can lose the clients. For me, staying responsible is the key to the job. That means the obvious — not letting guests overindulge. But it means being financially responsible to them, too.”
Krohn revealed his enthusiasm for his work while opening the Trebbiano.
“We are drinking wine at the moment of its death. Once the bottle is opened, the wine is in its death throes.”
Such romance goes deeper for him.
“I believe that wine is a snapshot in time. People remember where they were and who they were drinking with when drinking a great wine for the first time. What drives me is the hunt for the next great wine discovery.”
How deeply into the grape jungle does Krohn go?
“I went to China last year — 14 cities in 30 days. They have some nice wines there. I went to a restaurant in Guangdong near a silk processor. After the silk worm has done its job, they make them into an amazing casserole.”
Ruth’s Chris itself is a silkworm of amazing possibilities. When Ruth Fertel opened her first restaurant in 1960s New Orleans, she did it on $4,000 of borrowed money. The West Des Moines store has a dozen chandeliers that cost that much and one that cost $30,000. When Jordan Creek Town Center sought a franchise in 2004, the company deemed West Des Moines too small. Twenty years later, Ruth’s Chris opened the largest store in its entire chain on Jordan Creek Parkway.
Is the WDM store holding its own?
“We are part of a franchise group out of Indianapolis. We sell more wine than any other restaurant in the group. I think that we have justified the confidence someone had in us. Des Moines is a gem, in my opinion. It’s a microcosm of the entire Midwest economy because of its place at the cross roads of I-80/35. I think I have convinced the company that Des Moines has a serious wine scene. Seven-hundred-dollar bottles are no problem to sell. We sold over 100 bottles over $1,200 each last year. (Many of those are plus sizes, more than 750 ml.) Investment-grade wines are a real market in Des Moines. They have been aggrandizing in value 20% a year. I call them ‘pleasurable liquidations.’ ”
What are some of Krohn’s touts of places in town other than Ruth’s?
“I think the best wine values on the retail front are at Trader Joe’s. They do wonderful things in the bargain categories — cheeses, too. I love Lucca. They keep a vibrant, mixed wine list, Django, too. Oak Park is wonderful. Sam Tuttle is a great sommelier. I found a great spice mix — Naked Dave — at Old Craft Meats.”
What does he see down the road?
“I want my job to be 100% appointment only someday. I am running at 60% now. I give clients my personal information, and all they need to do is text me when they want something. I take care of everything from reservations to wine and dinner. Ninety-five percent of our locker rentals are my customers.
“Cyd (Koehn of Cyd’s Catering) has a locker here, for instance. She keeps it for her special clients. She’s doing a lot of private jet business now, and she needs to have some very special wines on hand for those clients. I take care of that for her.”
Krohn started working as a bag boy at Dahl’s, made a name selling Mercedes and BMWs and only started in the hospitality business when Champps opened. Is he hooked on hospitality now?
“It’s in my blood. Mike Whalen (founder and CEO of the hospitality group that includes Machine Shed and Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse) said that we are the luckiest people in the world because everyone else comes to us to share the most important moments of their lives. How can you top that?” n
