Chef and restaurant owner Joe Tripp had hoped to have his newest eating establishment – Basic Bird – up and running last summer.

But the new restaurant won’t open until January, Tripp said. The reason? The difficult and time-consuming process of maneuvering through a multitude of complex city procedures and requirements

“I felt like I’d make one step forward and then take two steps backward,” said Tripp, an award-winning chef who owns and operates Harbinger and Little Brother restaurants.

Tripp relayed his frustrations to Connie Boesen as she campaigned to become mayor of Des Moines. Boesen, who won the Nov. 7 election, shared what she heard from Tripp and others with the city’s staff, prompting them to redesign a vacant position in the economic development office.

Last week, the city began advertising for an economic development project manager who will be responsible for helping small-business owners navigate the maze of processes involved with plan development and review, permitting, and financial and other incentives. The full-time job will pay between $88,836 and $112,611 annually.

Boesen “opened our eyes to a need that we had within our own internal processes,” said Matt Anderson, Des Moines’ assistant city manager. “We took this position and really tailored it specifically to helping small businesses work through our own processes.

It can be daunting, particularly if English isn’t your first language, coming to the city and having to learn all of the zoning codes, fire codes and state licensing that might be required. There are parking requirements, landscaping requirements … there’s just a lot of different requirements.”

Project manager’s responsibilities
Before a new business owner submits a building plan to be reviewed by the city, the person must first go through a pre-application meeting, Anderson said. During that meeting, the business owner learns about a myriad of regulations and zoning requirements including sewer, water, fire, traffic and zoning and building codes.

“That can scare a lot of people,” Anderson said. “There are small businesses that come to that meeting and we never hear from them again. We don’t know why, but we hope that it’s not because our processes got in the way.”

The new project manager will help business owners navigate the process. Among the project manager’s responsibilities will be helping match business owners’ needs with city assistance programs and other funding sources, helping resolve development-related challenges, and facilitating discussions between business owners and city staff and others.

The city is also seeking applicants who are fluent in two languages, although knowing a second language isn’t mandatory, according to the job description.

Tripp’s frustrations
Tripp applauds the city’s move in creating the new position. If the position had been in place when he began making plans for Basic Bird, a lot of headaches would have been avoided, he said.

Over a year ago, Tripp announced plans to open Basic Bird at 2607 Beaver Ave. in a building that for nearly five decades had been home of Rice Bowl, which closed after its owner died.

“We thought that since [the property] had been operating as a restaurant, all we had to do is upgrade some things,” said Tripp, who acquired the property. (He leases space for his other two restaurants.) “We didn’t understand the whole process of going through a site plan submittal and all of the other necessary pieces that would be required.”

When Tripp and his team submitted a site plan for review by the city, he said he was told renderings needed to be prepared by an architect. It took a week to get the necessary drawings, he said.

“The process went a lot slower than I would have liked it to,” Tripp said.

Tripp recently learned the redevelopment of the property may have qualified for the city’s tax abatement program, he said. He wonders whether there are other programs for which the project would have been eligible.

The process would have been easier if there was someone at the city who could answer questions and provide more detailed information, Tripp said. “I would have had a better idea of what a realistic timeline would have been to get [the restaurant] open. … Time is money. In the future, having someone to talk to could save some people a lot of costs.”

Boesen: Remove obstacles
Boesen, who will be sworn in as mayor on Jan. 8, understands Tripp’s frustrations. For over 30 years, she has operated Applishus concession stands (and later Salad Bowl) at the Iowa State Fair.

Issues raised by people she talked with while campaigning for mayor were concerning, said Boesen, who is currently an at-large council member.

Boesen said that it’s especially difficult for people from other countries to start a business in Des Moines. “You don’t speak the language. You don’t know the rules and regulations. How would you?” she said.

Boesen is encouraging officials to review city requirements to determine if there are obstacles making it difficult for small-business owners to open new store fronts. Boesen emphasized that she doesn’t want to lower city standards. However, she said she would like to see flexibility in some requirements.

For instance, Boesen said the city requires a certain amount of shrubbery or trees to be in place before a business opens. Instead of requiring all of the plantings to be in place before an occupancy permit is issued, maybe only half can be planted with the remainder put in the ground within a year of opening, she said.

“Every day a small business isn’t open, they aren’t making money,” Boesen said. “Once the business is successful, they will reinvest.”

The deadline to apply for the job of economic development project manager is 4 p.m. on Dec. 22. Interviews are expected to be held in January or February and someone hired by late in the first quarter, Anderson said.

More about Basic Bird

Basic Bird, which serves Korean fried chicken, was created during the pandemic by chef Joe Tripp. He opened the restaurant out of the kitchen of his small-plate restaurant, Harbinger at 2724 Ingersoll Ave. Foods served by Harbinger weren’t designed for carry-out, so Tripp began making the fried chicken, which became popular.

Basic Bird continues to operate out of Harbinger on Sundays.

Basic Bird is expected to open at 2607 Beaver Ave. in January, Tripp said.