Details released about fine dining restaurant planned on Ingersoll
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Dec 12, 2022 | 5:03 pm
2 min read time
508 wordsAll Latest News, Arts and Culture, Real Estate and Development
A 98-seat fine dining restaurant called Oak Park is planned in the 3900 block of Ingersoll Avenue. Architectural rendering by Hartman Trapp Architecture Studio
Photo below: From left are Billy Dohrmann, Block 39’s director of operations; chef Ian Robertson; pastry chef Jess Roberston; and Damon Murphy, general manager. Photo special to the Business Record
A fine dining restaurant called Oak Park will be the anchor tenant of a redevelopment project in the 3900 block of Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines, the project’s developer announced.
The 98-seat restaurant, which will offer modern American cuisine inspired by seasonal ingredients, will be led by hospitality veterans Damon Murphy, who previously was with 801 Chophouse, and Ian Robertson, a chef whose culinary journey began in Iowa and took him to Chicago and New York where he worked in several critically acclaimed restaurants.The redevelopment project, called Block 39, was announced in August by Des Moines businesswoman Kathy Fehrman, a managing partner in Fehrman Investments LLC. Over a year ago, Fehrman purchased property at 3901 and 3913 Ingersoll Ave. that included a building that had housed a medical office and a residence that had been converted to retail space.
The buildings on the property have been razed and site work is underway. Construction of the new restaurant is expected to begin soon and be completed by fall 2023, said Chris Diebel, spokesperson for the project.
Block 39’s master development will include an edible garden that will inspire the seasonal menu and bar program at Oak Park, according to a news release. An additional 3,000-square-foot retail space is planned to the west of the restaurant. The two properties will share 37 parking stalls.
Extensive landscaping is planned on the property to help the development blend into the neighborhood. Three existing oak trees are being saved and up to 20 new trees will be planted.
Murphy is the project’s general manager, according to the release. For 16 years, Murphy worked at 801 Chophouse, where he most recently was general manager.
Murphy’s responsibilities at Oak Park include building out the front-of-house team and spearheading the curation of a 7,000-bottle wine cellar and cocktail program.
“The guest experience starts long before entrees are served,” Murphy said in a prepared statement. “We are creating a comfortable, upscale environment that will be run by hand-picked industry professionals.”
Robertson left Iowa in 2017 to expand his career in New York and Chicago. Over the past five years, he has worked in critically acclaimed restaurants such as ABC Kitchen, Daisies, and Deer Path Inn, according to the release.
Others in Oak Park’s leadership team include pastry chef Jess Robertson and Billy Dohrmann, who is director of operations for the Block 39 development.
Murphy, Ian Robertson, Jess Robertson and Dohrmann will spend most of 2023 honing their respective programs and offering occasional tasting menus to engage the public, according to the release. Additionally, they are each actively pursuing their introductory sommelier designation through the Court of Master Sommeliers, which sets the global standard of excellence for beverage services in the hospitality industry.
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