5/23/25 Des Moines Food News: Wanna Talk about Bruno?
We're gonna talk about Bruno, Des Moines.
G3 is 🐀 Des Moines’ weekly restaurant and food business resource. 🐀 Note: This post contains affiliate links from Bookshop.org and Uncommon Goods. 🐀
Love: Openings, Closings, News, Events
The Rook Room opens on May 31st.
Sultan Halal Meat and Grocery is now open (Google Maps).
Sai Sri Services is a new home-based vegetarian Indian vendor.
Of Note: Cocktail bar Juniper Moon closes on May 31. ☕ They’ll have May pop-ups with The Hidden Eggroll (IG), HotShots (FB), and Top Bun.
Chain News 🐀
A combo Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon opens in Waukee on June 13th.
New Starbucks open in both Indianola and Ankeny.
News and Events
Iowa-based Blue Bunny recalled a lot of ice cream. It includes Halo Top. ☕
Burger Shed, sibling of the Machine Shed, had 15 (!) food safety violations. ☕
Remember Saints Pub and Patio, Taco Hangover, and Union 29? The owner was sentenced to prison for many things. ☕
Choose Iowa introduced a free passport to use at farms and other vendors.
Fareway now accepts Double Up Food Bucks.
Hate subscription models? DSM G3 has lifetime subscriptions! Thunndaahhh. 🐀
May Events
Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24:
Celebrasian returns!
Touring event 🐀 Everybody’s Favorite BBQ and Hot Sauce Festival will be at Riverview Park.
Saturday, May 24: Des Moines Mushroom Festival at Captain Roy’s (DSM Girl)
Sunday, May 25: Recurring event, Meal with Strangers
Thursday, May 29: Ashes and Diamonds Wine Dinner at Oak Park
Friday, May 30
Full Court Press has a recurring Summer Patio Tour at their locations.
Recurring event Pizza on the Prairie by Wallace Centers restarts.
Don’t forget to check Redditor limitedftogive’s weekly events list!
Coming in June: Greek Food Fair, Cajun Fest Boil & Brew, Botanical Garden’s events (kombucha, honey, mocktails, and a picnic), Ankeny Beats and Eats, Iowa Craft Brew Festival, Johnston’s Family Fest and Green Days, Grimes’ Governors Days, Capital City Pride, Neighbor’s Day Celebration, and Free Range Music & BBQ Festival.
Donuts: 🐀
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Did you know this exists?
Is Paul Revere’s Pizza the greatest or shittiest pizza? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been, and I forgot it even existed. It’s been there since at least the late `90s.
Where’s This?
Last week: Beef pot stickers from Dumpling House! How about this plate of yum?
☕ Spilling the Chai: Recs and Fun ☕
This week, Cash Mob comin’! See the deets below! Plus, Celebrasian pics, chatter about Blue Bunny and others.
Hold on to your butts. There’s A LOT this week. I even cut some out!
Cash Mob: Dinner Delights
On Tuesday, June 10th from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., we’ll do our first Cash Mob at Dinner Delights!
The owner, Andrea, is an amazing human, and it’s time to give back to her for feeding folks! She’ll have items ranging from $4 to $14 as well as other goodies in her coolers. Plus, she will have her June and July menus ready, so we can see what’s coming up and get ready to order! She’s staying open a little for us! I’ll send another invite, but just show up with a friend, spend money (no more than $20 unless you want to), take pics, and share them to your socials!
Recs!
Celebrasian is this weekend. If you’ve never been, let these visuals convince you to go. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky last year. ;)
Wrecks
Burger Shed
Much to my surprise, there were no bugs or mold; however, there was a ton of stuff that would easily lead to food poisoning: Handwashing problems, raw food, lack of labeling, and food temperature problems. My favorite was learning the term “wet nesting,” which is when wet dishes are stored too close together, harboring bacteria. Basically, Burger Shed appears to be a petri dish. 🐀
Juniper Moon
Short version: The Gusto guys own this bar. A loved one and her friend were drugged at Juniper Moon. Friends know of other women drugged there. I’m glad it’s gonna close.
Freedom for Youth Ministries and the Culture of Silence
cw // pedophilia
A man who worked at Freedom of Youth Ministries was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a seven-year-old. If you’re not familiar, Freedom of Youth Ministries owns Freedom Blend Coffee. They’ve made clear their anti-LGBTQ stance, and their website is dripping with white saviorism. 🐀 Not to mention their expanding campus continues to consume land in a low-income area. Of course, it’s not fair to blame Freedom of Youth Ministries for one person’s malice. It’d also be short-sighted to ignore the number of times this happens in large religious organizations. Let’s just say I suspect this won’t be a one off.
Blue Bunny
The family-run company that owns Blue Bunny, Wells Enterprises, has a long history of supporting the regime. This is a perfect time to ditch them. 🐀
Saints Pub and Patio Owner
So, that guy owed Tonic, Saints, Shotgun Betty’s, The Irish, Annie’s Irish Pub, and Wellman’s in WDM at one point. He sued 🐀COVID Kim over the pandemic . . . because she forced businesses to shut down. Imagine being so far to the right that you sue Dim Reynolds. And then lose. Maybe Bruno saw that coming too.
Bruno’s rats got everywhere. Sorry about that. Not sorry about the ear worm.
Tried sending you a message on IG but couldn’t find you. Mandarin noodle house in Johnston is closed. A restaurant called saffron will take its place.
That’s a Bing Bing wrap from Lucky Lotus!!