Jethro’s BBQ All Stars Downtown opened this week, after more than a year spent converting a former office building into a restaurant.

The restaurant, the ninth in entrepreneur Bruce Gerleman’s chain of barbeque establishments, is located at 721 Third St. in a two-story building that was once home of Master Builders of Iowa’s headquarters.

The restaurant is just south of the Iowa Events Center, which before the pandemic, attracted more than 1.1 million visitors annually. Jethro’s BBQ All Stars Downtown, located just north of Buzzard Billy’s, is now the closest restaurant to the Iowa Event Center, which includes Wells Fargo Arena, Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center and Hy-Vee Hall.

“It’s a timeless location,” Gerleman said. “And it’s a location with spectacular views of the [Iowa State] Capitol building, downtown and Women of Achievement Bridge. You won’t get views like that anywhere else.”

Gerleman said he settled on the new restaurant’s name for two reasons. First, Wells Fargo is home to several state high school championship tournaments. In addition, the restaurant’s menu includes the most popular items from other Jethro’s BBQ locations, Gerleman said.

“They are the all-star items we serve,” he said.

For the next two or so weeks, Jethro’s BBQ All Stars Downtown will be open just for dinner. Gerleman said he wants everything to be running smoothly and all the needed staff hired before opening for lunch and weekend brunches.

“You only have one chance to make a good impression,” Gerleman said. “If we mess it up, customers won’t return.”

Finding qualified people to work at the restaurant has been challenging, Gerleman said. He said he is offering hiring bonuses and monetary incentives of up to $1,000 to staff who recruit people hired to work in management positions.

“We need to be creative with incentives,” Gerleman said. More than 100 people have been hired to work at the restaurant but more are needed, he said.

Converting the 55-year-old office building to a restaurant was difficult, Gerleman said. In the end, though, the effort was worthwhile, he said.

“This restaurant was built to last,” Gerleman said. “We made as beautiful Jethro’s as you’ll ever see.”

Jethro’s BBQ All Stars Downtown

• 721 Third St., Des Moines
• Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday; 4 to 10 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday.
• Lunch and brunch on Saturday and Sunday will be added in the coming weeks.

More online: New Jethro’s BBQ location planned