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As Des Moines’ dining scene evolves, two downtown restaurateurs are working to brand their respective establishments as uptown diners with an unassuming atmosphere that caters to all palates.

“We don’t want to be a special occasion place,” said Sean Wilson, Azalea’s executive chef. “We might be a little upper end,” he said, “but we’re still within the price point and still within the mindset where we’re casual.”

Wilson, who began working at the restaurant in January 2007, about four months before it opened, moved into the executive chef role following the departure of Jeremy Morrow last fall.

Mike Hutchison, who owns Azalea and two other local restaurants, Star Bar and Zen, said Azalea began serving lunches for the first time on Sept. 22.

“We wanted to be in that price point where we can complete price-wise with typical lunch spots, but have something a little better with a little better atmosphere,” Hutchison said, adding that’s a concept Azalea wants to build on.

Wilson calls it “polished casual.”

“That’s who we really wanted to be in the first place,” Wilson said, “but I think since Jeremy was known in Des Moines as the sort of the high-end chef … the expectation was that this was just kind of ultra-fine dining.”

Hutchison said, for example, that he wants jeans-wearing customers walking in for a $12 pizza and a beer before an Iowa Cubs game to feel just as comfortable as a group of New York executives eating $32 steaks.

“I think everyone can get what they’re looking for and not feel uncomfortable with the people they are sitting next to,” he said.

The fare at Azalea, which is “a take on colloquial or everyday Southern food,” Wilson said, also reflects the restaurant’s inclusive style by taking everyday dishes and upgrading the ingredients and plate presentations to reflect more of an uptown flavor, figuratively and literally.

“It gives the customer a completely different feel,” Hutchison said.

Carly Groben, owner of Proof, is also interested in taking “everyday food” items and elevating them to a little higher form of cuisine, while preserving traditional methods of preparation, she said.

Groben, who traveled the world doing humanitarian work before getting into the restaurant business full-time three years ago, said her desire to bring “more obscure flavors and spices to our city in a more accessible format” was born out of her interest in countries such as Thailand, Ethiopia and Kenya.

In addition to creating an uptown feel and comfortable setting for her business-lunch crowd, which includes keeping the restaurant spic and span, Groben said, Proof’s Mediterranean-style dishes are presented in ways that appeal to the broadest possible appetites.

She’d also like to see more variety of ethnic foods in Des Moines and recently traveled to Istanbul to research traditional preparation methods of the “shawarma,” a Middle-Eastern flatbread sandwich filled with meat, such as lamb, that has been slow-roasted vertically on a spit and served with vegetables and a variety of sauces.

Shawarma, which means “to turn,” is “traditionally a street food,” Groben said, adding that it is “not pedestrian, but something that you would eat every day.”

Taking an everyday food item and “elevating it so it is a little higher form of cuisine, while preserving the traditional methods” of preparation,” Groben said, is a core component of her business, which includes sit-down dinners on Friday nights and catering to private events.

“I think the intention is to present it in a way that is appealing to the diner,” she said. “I would love to bring shawarma to downtown Des Moines.”

Beyond the menu

In addition to spicing up conventional meals and relating them to what Wilson calls “the sensible Des Moines palate,” Proof and Azalea are focused on the people behind the preparation and presentation.

Both owners said they want to give employees a sense of ownership as their respective establishments seek out fresh ways to provide value to customers.

Azalea, for example, places a high priority on employee retention.

Training new hires is expensive, Wilson said, adding that turnover can be costly. In bigger cities, he said, some restaurants expect at least a one-year commitment from new hires, adding that in those markets it is generally frowned upon when employees, especially those who work in the kitchen, bail out after only a few months.

“The restaurant community here is so small,” Wilson said. “It’s a revolving door, people come and go. Is that a good thing? I don’t know,” he said. “Most places would consider that a bad thing in any other industry. Turnover is expensive, and we’re trying to change that.”

“Luckily, the people that I employ here are mostly transplants,” Wilson continued. “I can say most of my kitchen is not part of that revolving door system.”

Hutchison, who subscribes to the late W. Edwards Deming style of management, which includes breaking down barriers between departments and promoting pride in workmanship, is all about garnering feedback from his staff.

“You want to develop a system that people are going to work within and feel appreciated,” he said. “You ask for input from everybody, you want everybody to be involved in the business. I’ve asked everyone right down to the dishwasher how they think things might go better.”

In an effort to better manage its growth, which Hutchison said he expects to accelerate as the economy recovers, Azalea plans to hire a general manager to help maintain the business.

Business is “coming back in spurts,” Hutchison said. Wilson offered a more forward-looking statement: “This wave is coming … we need to make sure we don’t miss it.”

Groben, who was the general manager of Basil Prosperi’s Lucca for about a year and a half prior to opening Proof in September 2008, said her “employee-centric” business model was inspired by Lucca owner Steve Logsdon and a book by Danny Meyer titled “Setting the Table.”

For her, putting employees first, vendors and purveyors second and customers third has been a recipe for success, she said.

“Businesses obviously want to take care of their customers,” Groben said. If your employees and purveyors are happy, she continued, that will ultimately trickle down to patrons, improving the “longevity and overall success of your business.”

In the next few weeks, Groben said, she will begin providing health insurance at no charge to full-time employees. She also plans to close the restaurant for a week in January so her staff of eight can take a paid vacation.

Overall, both restaurants are intent on balancing their menus and ambiance with Greater Des Moines progressive dining culture.

“You try to keep it within certain parameters that it still all fits together, but is broad enough to satisfy a certain cross-section,” Wilson said.

“We’re going to give you the big-city feel,” while maintaining a warm and inviting atmosphere, Wilson said. “When walking in, we’re going to give you a proverbial hug, a look in the eye and a plate of food.”