Mullets, the high-energy, casual atmosphere restaurant that got its start along the riverfront in downtown Des Moines, is expanding to Waukee.

The establishment will be located at 1105 SE Pleasant View Drive in Waukee, according to information posted on Waukee’s Current Development project website. A building permit was issued in late March for tenant improvements in a new one-story, 20,782-square-foot strip shopping center under construction on the site. The permit valued the tenant improvement project for Mullets at $880,000.

Mullets opened its original breakfast and lunch restaurant near the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in mid-2010. The restaurant, with views of downtown Des Moines, the Iowa Capitol building and Principal Park, is along the Meredith Trail, making it a favorite stopover for bicyclists. 

Mullets opened its first franchise location in 2023 at 617 SW Third St. in Ankeny’s Uptown neighborhood. A third Mullets opened in June 2025 at 1951 E. 18th St. in Norwalk.

The new Mullets in Waukee will be in a new commercial building being developed by Timbercrest Homes LLC on nearly 6 acres on the northeast corner of Grand Prairie Parkway and Southeast Pleasant View Drive. Mullets will be located in 5,565-square-feet of space in the center of the building, with four other suites on either side, building plans show.

A covered patio, with views of a detention pond, will have seating for about 40. The bar will have large pass-thru garage-style windows, plans show. The interior of the restaurant, which will seat about 140, will have wood-paneled walls and exposed beams in the ceiling, similar to other Mullets’ restaurants.

The restaurant, which hosted a job fair last week, is expected to open in June, according to its Facebook post.