Oak Park gets a sister restaurant and market in 2026. Kathy Fehrman, the owner of the New American restaurant on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines, said that by September 2026, Canopy could open at 4001 Ingersoll Ave. with breakfast and lunch, with the possibility of patio dining and a retail market.
“Part of our long-term business plan is a branded product,” she said. “We wanted to have our own space to be able to market those branded products.”
All of this is very preliminary. Fehrman closes on the 4,372-square-foot building, on the market for $750,000, in mid-September. The brick and concrete building that currently houses City Voices includes a finished basement. She’s working with architect Brad Hartman of Hartman Spiller in Des Moines to come up with the design of the space that includes about 2,200 square feet above ground. Hartman also designed Oak Park.
“Nothing is firmed up 100%, but right now, we’re thinking maybe breakfast, lunch, and a market space,” she said.
A market was always part of the plan at Oak Park
When Oak Park was coming together in 2022, Fehrman always planned to have a retail space on a plot just to the west of the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired building on Ingersoll Avenue. She thought it could become a meat market or a shop that sold items created by Oak Park staff, such as seasoning mixes or granola.
A year later, she opted to turn the space into a prairie designed by local horticulturist Kelly Norris. The winding pathway through the thicket of cone flowers and native plants has become a fixture in the neighborhood, and often neighbors stroll through on nightly walks. Artist James Navarro painted a mural of oak trees on a retaining wall before the restaurant opened in October 2023.
“We had our plate full after we opened Oak Park, and so that got paused, and we put the prairie in,” Fehrman said in the dining room of Oak Park with a view of the prairie. “The prairie has been incredibly well-received by the neighborhood. It’s a destination for people on walks. Every 15 minutes, you see somebody walking through that prairie.”
Last summer, Fehrman introduced a farmers market in the Oak Park parking lot that highlighted many of the vendors the restaurant uses to create its menu, which earned it a spot on the USA TODAY 2025 Restaurants of the Year list in February.
Customers can find vegetables from farmers such as Jordan Clasen from Grade A Gardens in Earlham, and meats from Pine Grove Family Farm in Bondurant, where pigs served in dishes at Oak Park were raised eating kitchen scraps from the restaurant.
Oak Park highlighted its butters, spice mixes, non-alcoholic cocktail mixes, and such at the market. The next two markets take place on Sept. 8 and Oct. 13 from 4 to 7 p.m.
The farmers market approach will inform the market at Canopy, an homage to Oak Park. Fehrman liked the “OP” in the middle of Canopy that nods to Oak Park.
What will Canopy serve for breakfast and lunch?
What breakfast and dinner look like at Canopy depends on the ideas her staff and others bring. She has an open call for ideas. “Right now, we’re just telling people about the project and letting them let us know if they’re interested,” she said.
While no idea has been ruled out, Fehrman does want the restaurant to fit in the neighborhood.
“Chef-driven a little bit, but not as fancy as Oak Park,” she said. “We like to think of Oak Park as being approachable. This will definitely be a little more approachable. It’s still all in the works…. We want to try to find our own niche and do something incredibly special in this town that isn’t being done right now.”
So far, she’s finding inspiration from places like Middlebrook Farm in Cumming. Friends are suggesting places to visit in Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. A market down the street from her grandmother’s house is also an inspiration.
“I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid, and she had a small market that was just two blocks from her house, just a teensy little thing,” she said, describing the meat counter, a dairy section, and pantry staples such as sugar, butter, and milk that the store carried.
Those types of items will be part of the store, she said, describing the products in the market as a curated collection of homemade and specialty items
“If I have a mission in life, it is to make my neighborhood the coolest neighborhood in the world,” Fehrman said. “I want this to just add to what’s already here.”
Where to find Oak Park
Location: 3901 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines
Contact: 515-620-2185 or oakparkdsm.com
Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Reservations: Exploretock.com.
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Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Oak Park introduces breakfast and lunch spot with a gourmet market in 2026
Reporting by Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
