The former Spaghetti Works building on Court Avenue will not become a bar, leaving uncertainty around the future of the building.

The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment today denied a request by Larry Smithson to allow the former Spaghetti Works building on Court Avenue to become a bar, which would have featured various games and televisions to watch sporting events.

The board rejected Smithson’s request, with board chair Mel Pins saying the Court Avenue district “needs to find a new direction if it’s going to remain viable.”

Smithson sought a change in use for the building because more than 50% of the business’s gross revenues would be from the sale of alcoholic beverages.

During the meeting, Smithson, who also owns the District at 212 Fourth St., said it would be impossible for 50% or more of the revenue to be from food, explaining he would offer bar food, such as burgers and tenderloins, nacho platters and various appetizers, but not enough to qualify as a restaurant.

He said in his 33 years in the bar business he’s never had a shooting, stabbing or serious injury at any of the establishments he’s owned over the years.

“It doesn’t look to me like I’ve had much of a problem place, or that I’m trying to cater to a crowd that wants to fight or cause problems,” Smithson said.

He said his plan is to purchase the former Spaghetti Works space, telling the board he is going to put $400,000 down and take out a $1.2 million loan to buy it. He said he also plans to spend $200,000 to remodel the space.

“I doubt that person [who does that] really wants to have any problems,” Smithson said to the board.

Several downtown residents spoke in opposition to Smithson’s proposal, saying downtown Des Moines and the Court Avenue district need more diversity in their offerings, including more family-friendly establishments.

Smithson argued that there aren’t many families living downtown, with most of its residents being young single people or couples.

Despite his pleas, the board voted 7-0 to deny his request.

In its decision, the board cited staff’s recommendation to reject his request, including:

• The likelihood that the bar would negatively affect the “peaceful coexistence” of nearby residential and commercial uses. The second through fourth floors of the building include 51 residential units. Allowing a bar to operate in the street-level space “could present a potential nuisance” to residents, staff wrote in their recommendation.
• Increased congestion on Court Avenue and other surrounding streets, especially around the bar’s 2 a.m. closing time.
• Becoming a detriment to other commercial businesses in the area by causing excessive noise and vibrations and reducing property values.

Board members Heather Ann Roe and Marlys Jones both said they think more diversity and more family-friendly businesses are needed on Court Avenue.

Pins said Court Avenue “is at a tipping point, and not in a good way.”

He said he’s gone on police ride-alongs at 2 a.m. and has witnessed behavior and interactions with police that were “embarrassing.”

“I’m all for giving people a shot, but this does not matter who wants to operate it. This is about what the operations are, and Court Avenue needs to find a new direction if it’s going to remain viable,” Pins said.

In 2021 and 2022, the Court Avenue district experienced a surge of violence, including attempted murder and assaults with deadly weapons. Much of the trouble was attributed to a building at Court Avenue and Third Street.

In December 2022, the zoning board required businesses at the property to close by midnight. New owners cleared the building of all tenants, including the District Bar and Grill that had been operated by Smithson.

In 2023, the city of Des Moines, the Polk County Board of Supervisors and Operation Downtown paid for an assessment of the Court Avenue district. The assessment concluded that a broader mix of uses were needed in the area, including more retail, office and service-oriented businesses, and that dining opportunities needed to be preserved.

The Court Avenue district needs to offer “experiences instead of just alcohol for entertainment,” city staff wrote in its recommendation to the board.

Spaghetti Works had occupied the space at 310 Court Ave. for 45 years before it abruptly closed in March 2023. At the time, Shelly Stokes, the owner of the Omaha, Neb.-based business, cited concerns about violence and the safety of patrons as the primary reasons for closing the restaurant, which occupied just under 8,000 square feet on the first floor.

When reached by telephone, Stokes declined comment following today’s meeting.

Pins speculated that one reason the former Spaghetti Works building has remained vacant is others don’t want to invest in Court Avenue because of its reputation of being a bar district.

Pins said the Court Avenue neighborhood is zoned downtown mixed-use and it should be more than just bars.

“It does call for living and for retail, that’s what the zoning district is here for,” he said.

Pins said the city’s policy already says it wants to see more restaurants and entertainment venues.

“And those entertainment uses are not just bars that have TVs and drinking games,” he said.

After today’s meeting, Smithson said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal the board’s decision to district court but said he’s considering another use for the building.

“I’m going to buy the building,” he said. “It’s just what the building is going to be. I’ve had a lot of churches approach me, and I think I’m going to open a place to feed all the homeless in Des Moines. That will give the city something to think about.”