The future of the 8,000-square-foot space on Court Avenue that housed Spaghetti Works for 45 years until the restaurant’s closure in March 2023 will remain uncertain until at least Oct. 23.

Larry Smithson, a prospective tenant of the space at 310 Count Ave. and a local bar operator, was granted a continuance Sept. 25 by the Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment, allowing him more time to address neighborhood concerns before the board votes whether to allow his proposed bar concept to occupy the storefront.

The street-level space has been empty since March 2023.

Filling vacant 8,000-square-foot spaces are challenging, the space’s owner and a Des Moines real estate broker told the Business Record.

Tyler Dingel, a broker and executive vice president at CBRE Inc. who also co-owns the restaurant RoCA on Court Avenue, said when a retail space like 310 Court Ave. stays vacant for too long, it could start affecting other businesses in the entertainment district.

But he said a rush to fill it with the wrong user could be detrimental in the long term.

“Getting it filled up is very important,” Dingel said. “… You want to maintain and create that liveliness and that buzz that Court Avenue became known for, and a lot of the good things that were going for that area pre-pandemic — outdoor festivals and arts and culture and vendors, and the things that really made that area a destination for people.

“When you have dark storefronts, that’s a drag down on everything in the area,” he said. “At the same time, I would say a rush to fill it with the wrong user is more detrimental than leaving it as a dark space until you find the right use and the right group that will be a benefit to all of the businesses in that area.”

Smithson’s plans for the proposed bar include foosball, pool tables, darts and shuffleboard, and mounted televisions to play sporting events. The zoning board must approve the change in use because more than 50% of the proposed business’s gross revenue would be from sales of alcoholic drinks.

In September, the Downtown Neighborhood Association issued a proclamation asking the zoning board to deny Smithson’s change of use request. City staff have also recommended the board deny Smithson’s request. The board approved Smithson’s request to discuss the change of use request at its Oct. 23 meeting.

Shelly Stokes, president of the Omaha-based Spaghetti Works, said she’s had three to four potential buyers look at the property since it’s been on the market.

Stokes owns the street-level space of the historic four-story building. The upper levels, which include apartments, have a different owner.

She told the Business Record this week that the property is being marketed nationally, but “we’d like to stay with someone local, if possible. People in the Des Moines area would know and could do the best (with the space).”

Both Stokes and Dingel said the area’s parking and walkability and the 8,000-square-foot size of the restaurant space also make it a challenging property to fill.

“The space itself is larger than typical restaurant space would be, which makes it a little bit challenging,” Dingel said. “There are a lot of challenges to it. You’ve got parking availability, walkability, some of those things that you get, but you’re going to have that with any major downtown urban area like that. People will figure out how to get there. They’ll figure out places to park and some of those things.”

According to Dingel, an 8,000-square-foot space would also demand a larger rent price and require the business owner to drive enough sales volume and revenue to support that rent cost.

It’s possible to divide the space into multiple retail bays, but doing so could also be challenging, Dingel said.

“It certainly on paper would make sense, a space of that size, you cut it down into two spaces and make it smaller, and now it becomes more amenable to some of the soft goods-type of retailers, something like that,” he said. “But there are challenges that come with egress and infrastructure. Where is the plumbing located? Where are the restrooms located? You start trying to split that type of space up, it becomes very economically challenging to make that footprint work for the user.”

From Dingel’s perspective, experiential retail is a use that’s lacking on Court Avenue and could expand the pool of patrons coming to the district.

“I think there’s plenty of options down there from just a nightclub bar standpoint. I would love to see something that was more restaurant and entertainment focused than more specifically bar focused. I just feel like the offering down there from a bar service perspective is already filled,” he said.

Stokes also owns the Spaghetti Works in downtown Omaha’s Old Market arts and entertainment district, where she said more locally owned retail shops give that location something Court Avenue still needs.

Efforts to improve safety on Court Avenue after a spike in violent activity in 2021 and 2022 could also make a difference in the property’s success.

Stokes attributes some of the effects on businesses to a “perception of danger” in the entertainment district.

Dingel said there’s still work to be done.

“Obviously, there is not an easy solution, or it would have been done by now,” Dingel said. “But it’s something we need to, as a city, continue to work on and an area we need to continue to support. I think it’s very important to our downtown that it be a vibrant, lively, safe area for family and business to take place.  … We’re going to get out of Court Avenue what we put into it.”