Cooper’s Hawk, an upscale restaurant with wine tasting rooms, planned in Clive Leave a comment

Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, a national chain headquartered in a Chicago suburb, plans to open an establishment in Clive. Architectural rendering by Aria Group

Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, an upscale dining restaurant featuring wine tasting rooms and clubs, plans to open an establishment at 12801 University Ave. in Clive, a spokesperson for the national restaurant chain confirmed.



The restaurant is among three eateries new to the Des Moines area with plans to open in 2022 or early 2023. A fourth, St. Kilda’s, is opening a new location in a strip center in Clive.



Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, headquartered in Orland Park, Ill., is planned on the site once occupied by Granite City Food & Brewery. Granite City, based in Bloomington, Minn., closed its doors in March 2020 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.



Cooper’s Hawk was founded in 2005 by Tim McEnery and now has more than 45 locations nationwide. Seven new restaurants, including the one in Clive, are scheduled to open in 2022 and early 2023, according to the restaurant’s website.



The company has signed a lease for space in a restaurant that will replace the current structure on the site, the spokesperson said. A Clive official said the site’s existing building will be razed and replaced with an 11,300-square-foot structure with 600-square-foot patio.



A plan submitted to the city shows the building will include pinot noir and chardonnay rooms, a tasting bar, and a retail area where wine bottled by Cooper’s Hawk will be sold. Also included will be a bar and bar dining area, and a main dining area with tables and booths.



The site plan is the process of being reviewed by city staff. The Clive Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council must approve the site plan before construction can begin.

The property is owned by Premier Cos., located in Urbandale.



Two other new-to-the area restaurants are also planned:

• Cinnaholic Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls is opening a store at 505 E. Grand Ave. in Des Moines. The building’s tenants include Raygun clothing store. The city in mid-December issued a building permit valued at $300,000 to remodel ground-level space in the building. Cinnaholic, founded in 2009 in Berkeley, Calif., bills itself as the only gourmet bakery that allows customers to customize cinnamon rolls with more than 20 frosting flavors and over 20 topping choices. In April 2021, the company announced plans to open 100 new locations in the U.S. by 2025. At the time of the announcement, the company had 54 locations.
• Slim Chickens is opening a restaurant at 1730 N. Ankeny Blvd. in Ankeny. The restaurant is expected to open in May, according to a spokesperson. In early December, the city of Ankeny issued a building permit valued at $1.2 million for construction of the new restaurant. Slim Chickens opened its first restaurant in 2003 in Fayetteville, Ark., focusing on fresh food with a Southern flair in a fast-casual setting. The company has locations in 26 states and plans to add more than 600 restaurants in the next 10 years, according to a news release.

In related news, St. Kilda Cafe and Bakery is opening a restaurant in a retail center at 12695 University Ave. in Clive. The space previously had been occupied by Table 128, which has relocated to downtown Des Moines. A building permit valued at $135,000 was issued in November to remodel about 2,425 square feet of space in the Clive retail center.