Trailside Tap could break ground on an expansion this fall that would nearly quadruple the size of the bar and restaurant in Ankeny’s Uptown neighborhood.

The 2,600-square-foot business, at 710 S.W. Third St., continues to evaluate its plan and the timing for flipping the switch on the expansion, said Jake Happe, who owns the business with his wife, Brenna.

“The timing is going to happen when it’s right for us to pull the trigger,” he said. “There isn’t a specific date on when we’re going to do it. We’re just waiting for the right time to dial in the cost and make sure it’s a sound business decision.”

According to Happe, the plan is to raze a vacant house on an adjacent property and expand Trailside to nearly 10,000 square feet.

He said getting everything in order to prepare to demolish the house and the costs of construction have delayed those plans.

According to the plans, the current restaurant will become a bar area. The main level of the planned expansion will include what Happe described as a gourmet kitchen area where customers can see what’s happening in the kitchen, where the menu will “offer a different opportunity for different food.”

“It will really give them a different level of experience,” he said.

It will be partitioned into areas that will allow for groups to rent out space without having to shut down the business.

There will also be an enclosed rooftop bar and open patio area.

“It really gives three spaces … and opens the doors to do some more fun stuff,” Happe said.

Before that can happen, a house that sits on an adjacent lot must be torn down, which Happe said he hopes will happen this spring. The house has been vacant for several months, said Happe, who bought the property with expansion plans in mind.

Trailside is also working with the city of Ankeny to satisfy requirements before finalizing its plan, Happe said.

He said construction likely wouldn’t happen until at least this fall because he doesn’t want to disrupt the busy outdoor summer patio season.

Happe said Trailside, which was once a convenience store that Happe remembers riding his bicycle to as a child growing up in Ankeny and getting slushies and candy, has seen a huge increase in business because of its proximity to the High Trestle Trail bike trail. The business has also grown a reputation for quality food and service because of its team, he said.

“As we got busier, we can only fit so many people in the building … and we’ve identified that there’s this huge opportunity to grow and to be able to have a bigger kitchen that puts out more food in different ways,” Happe said.

The expansion will also allow Trailside Tap to provide a menu to Firetrucker Brewery, at 716 S.W. Third St., which is located on the other side of the house that is going to be razed, and provide easy access between the two businesses, Happe said.

Happe said he hopes Trailside Tap’s expansion will continue to add to the character and history of Ankeny’s Uptown neighborhood.

“It’s just an extension for the growing city of Ankeny to have more places to go, and the history of it and redeveloping Uptown Ankeny is exciting,” he said.

He said Uptown is full of mom-and-pop shops that support one another and the community.

“And that’s what I think Uptown is all about,” Happe said. “Local people doing what they love to do. And it’s really fun to see how it’s even changed over the last handful of years. It’s a historical area of Ankeny. It’s where it all started.”