‘Not your grandfather’s steakhouse’

High-end modern steakhouse opens in West Des Moines

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Prime and Providence 1
The dining room of Prime & Providence, a high-end steakhouse that opened this week in West Des Moines, flows into an open display kitchen, chef’s table and oyster bar. Below: The Prime & Providence lounge provides a more casual environment. Photos submitted by Prime & Providence

Calling it fancy but not formal, chef Dominic Iannarelli said his new restaurant in West Des Moines is “not your grandfather’s steakhouse.”

Prime & Providence opened officially on May 13 after a series of soft openings.

The upscale restaurant is located in the five-story 595 Tower building at 595 S. 60th St., developed by DRA Properties, which will be home to several other businesses with condominiums on the upper floors.

Iannarelli gave the Business Record a tour of the restaurant prior to the official opening, showing off the bright, airy concept highlighted by large windows and lighter tones.

As you walk in, the main dining area, complete with white table linens, flows into an open display kitchen and chef’s table where guests can watch food being prepared and plated. There is also an oyster bar, which Iannarelli said is the only one in the metro.

The restaurant has a wine room with climate-controlled storage, and wine lockers are available by membership that allow guests to bring in wines that may not be available locally.

Prime and Providence 2

The bar area provides a more casual atmosphere with TVs. In the back is a private dining room with large sliding-glass doors and windows on all sides to give it a more open feel, creating a space for general dining if needed without guests feeling isolated, Iannarelli said.

“With all the glass, you don’t feel like you’re in a separate room,” he said.

The hearth was custom built and took about six months to construct. The grill area is heated by charcoal, creating what Iannarelli described as a “Big Green Egg on steroids,” referring to the grill company. There are also two large, high-temperature ovens.

Dominic Iannerelli

Iannarelli, 44, is an Iowa State University alumnus with a degree in hotel restaurant management. The majority of his career was spent as executive chef at the downtown seafood restaurant Splash. He later started the Jethro’s franchise with Bruce Gerleman.

The concept of Prime & Providence was developed post COVID, and when he learned of the Tower development, Iannarelli said he knew the time was right to move forward.

“It’s been in the works, kicking the tires on it for about two years,” he said. “It took a long time to find the right location, and when we heard about the 595 Tower project, I was very particular in the space and lighting and we knew we wanted to do it in West Des Moines.”

He said the lack of local restaurants in the area and the proximity to the country club and “wealth demographics,” made the site a perfect fit.

“And the landscape of downtown changed so much post COVID, we don’t even really know when it will fully recover, plus being downtown for 20-plus years, it was nice to take a little break from it. I won’t say we won’t go back downtown to do other projects, but right now we felt the true need for this was in the burbs.”

Iannarelli’s partners are local attorney Cory Gourley and his law partners.

Once the space was identified and he saw what the developer was doing with the type of retail and professional space and the condominiums, it helped Iannarelli refine his concept to meet that level of sophistication.

“What we’re trying to do is what we call modern steak,” Iannarelli said. “It’s fancy. It’s just not formal. We wanted to really bring a high-end restaurant in with a more casual feel.”

The appearance of the exterior of the space and high ceilings inside, and the look of the space being built out from the rest of the building, appealed to Iannarelli as he refined the concept for the 6,900-square-foot space, he said.

“It’s not your grandfather’s steakhouse, right? We play a far different playlist in here,” Iannarelli said. “We don’t shut the windows. It isn’t a dark room. The staff wears fun chef’s coats and long bistro aprons and not just a jacket with a gold-plaque nametag on it and pins and stuff.”

Cuts of meat start at prime. There are also American Wagyu and Japanese Kobe steaks available to order.

Iannarelli said he is the only certified importer of Kobe beef in Iowa and that Prime & Providence is the only restaurant that serves the rich-tasting brand of beef in the state.

“It’s a very ambitious project and there are very few restaurateurs out there who do something like this,” he said. “The woodfired part separates us from our other steakhouse competitors, along with the full oyster bar and shellfish program. Nobody does anything quite like this.”

Appetizers and side dishes also get special attention, said Iannarelli, who sources his produce from local partners.

“We wanted to have more chef-driven sides,” he said. “Gone are the days of just steamed asparagus and broccoli with Hollandaise. We like different textures, different layers.”

“Putting that whimsical twist on things is the direction we’re going to continue to go,” Iannarelli said.

When fully staffed, the restaurant, which has a capacity of 190, will employ nearly 60 people.

Iannarelli said it’s important for the community that Prime & Providence is locally owned and operated, and “not a national chain coming in.”

“It’s a long journey to get to where we’re at,” he said. “I think the project itself is what I’m most proud of. Really understanding the direction I wanted to cook. I found myself moving further away from a tasting menu, full composed dishes and to that idea of really crafting food.”

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Michael Crumb

Michael Crumb is a senior staff writer at Business Record. He covers real estate and development and transportation.

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