City of Des Moines
Small Business Minute
| | While the sun is setting on summer, Des Moines’ small business community continues to shine with new activity and opportunities. This month’s Small Business Minute highlights fresh openings alongside a look at one of the city’s most enduring restaurants, plus practical guidance on parking requirements and outdoor lighting for business owners. You’ll also find details on the upcoming CultureAll Ball, a spotlight on Avenue Scholars, and a roundup of events you won’t want to miss. | | SMALL BUSINESS OPENINGS & EXPANSIONS | | |
Blush Boutique DSM is a new women’s clothing store located at 3410 Merle Hay Road in Des Moines. The boutique opened in mid-August 2025 and was created for fashion-loving women who want to look fabulous without breaking the bank. They offer a curated selection of trendy, gently used and new pieces for all sizes—perfect for women of all ages. The boutique aims to be the go-to destination for women looking for fashionable, everyday looks—ranging from casual wear to event-ready pieces—all in a welcoming and modern setting. By giving pre-loved fashion a second chance, they help our community shop sustainably and reduce waste. On-site money transfer services help keep shoppers connected to loved ones back home, all while discovering their next favorite outfit.
Blush Boutique is currently open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and is closed on Sundays. Shoppers can stay up to date on new arrivals, special events, and promotions by following Blush Boutique Facebook and Blush Boutique Instagram, visiting the Blush Boutique website, or calling the shop at 515-639-5065.
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Kulture Kingz, a Des Moines sneaker shop and apparel store, has recently opened its doors at Merle Hay Mall. A Covid business baby, Kulture Kingz began as an at home-operation before moving to a couple of iterations of brick-and-mortar storefronts. The store settled in at Merle Hay at the beginning of this month. Sneaker prospectors will be dazzled with the dizzying array of footwear and apparel that adorns the shop’s walls.
The curated space seeks to provide an approachable, fun, yet sophisticated environment for shoe enthusiasts and others to browse and buy a variety of footwear. Notably, the shop contains new and used varieties to fit many budgets. The store’s owners desired a customized, in-person shopping experience to bring sneakerheads together in a shared space and also to eliminate the mystique that often comes with buying streetwear online. Kulture Kingz is open Monday-Saturday, 12-7pm, and Sundays from 12-5pm at Merle Hay. Pay attention to their Instagram (@kulturekingz515) for special shoe drops, deals, and fashion tips.
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Ten years after getting started in Urbandale, Insane Impact recently opened its doors on a new facility at 7901 SW 22nd Street in Des Moines, just south of the Des Moines International Airport. Insane has rapidly developed into a national leader in LED lighting displays and supplies.
Their new space is 85,000 square feet and serves as the company’s de-facto headquarters and primary warehouse. The new location accommodates walk-in customers that want to test out certain products, including LED trailers, audio equipment, and more. With its standout facility, this homegrown company is certainly making an impact in South Des Moines. You can read more about Insane Impact and set up a consultation at this link.
| | Know a small business that either recently opened in Des Moines or made a significant investment to their existing Des Moines location? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line at oed@dmgov.org or 515-283-4004. Be sure to mention “small business” in any email subject lines. | | LEGACY BUSINESS OF THE MONTH | | |
Noah’s Ark is a long-running Italian restaurant located at 2400 Ingersoll Avenue. It opened on New Year’s Eve in 1946 as a small lunch counter and grew with steady additions—an expanded dining room in the 1950s, upstairs banquet rooms, and an on-site bakery that made its warm bread a signature. The founder, Noah Lacona, known locally as “the Pizza King”, helped popularize Neapolitan-style pizza in Central Iowa.
The menu still leans classic: thin-crust Neapolitan pizza and calzones, pastas like lasagna and cavatelli, chicken Parmigiana “en casserole,” veal dishes, and steak and seafood standards alongside house-baked bread. Desserts are old-school, too—spumoni, Chicago-style cheesecake, and blackout cake. Local coverage has long singled out the green-pepper rings and those irresistible rolls and “love knots.” Noah’s Ark inspires loyalty – according to an online review, a couple recently celebrating their 60th Anniversary at Noah’s has been commemorating special occasions at Noah’s since before they were married.
Noah’s Ark serves lunch Wednesday–Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and dinner Wednesday–Saturday from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. For current hours, menus, banquet details, or reservations, consult the Noah’s Ark website or call 515-288-2246; updates also appear on the Noah’s Ark Facebook page.
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SHOP TALK
A monthly feature where we attempt to explain, in simple terms, various topics related to doing business in the City of Des Moines.
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Are you a small business owner thinking about adding, re-doing, or expanding a parking lot this year before the winter cold hits? There are some key considerations to keep in mind when doing a parking lot project within the City of Des Moines. We’ll keep it high-level in this space, and if you have more-specific questions, you should reach out to the City’s Planning Division at planning@dmgov.org / 515-283-4192. The majority of the regulations outlined below can be read about in more detail in City Code Article 135-6.
Surfacing:
Parking lots are required to be a hard-surface materials such as hard asphalt or Portland Cement (PCC). Gravel or asphalt millings are not acceptable parking lot materials (if they exist elsewhere in the City, they likely have legal non-conforming rights and cannot be expanded).
Curbing:
6 inch curbing is required at paving setbacks, landscaped areas, and abutting property lines.
Location within site:
Depending on the zoning district and building type, parking lots have specific locational requirements on sites. Many times, parking lots are required to be located in the side or rear of a site, and require special approval (Plan and Zoning Commission hearing) to be located in front of a building.
“Non-Accessory” Parking Lots:
These are parking lots that are located on parcels without a building or other principal use on them. Many times, this type of “standalone” parking lot requires a special approval (Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing) before it can be constructed.
Dimensions and striping:
A typical vehicular parking stall is 9x17’. A limited number of stalls can be designated as “compact” or “universal,” which means they can be slightly smaller in length/width.
A standard two-way drive aisle is 20’, and one-way drive aisles should be 10’. All parking spaces must be striped.
Drive-Thrus:
Businesses with a drive-thru component must provide an appropriate number of stacking spaces based on the site use. Drive thrus also have certain locational requirements that vary based on the property’s building type.
Number of stalls required per use:
The City of Des Moines does have established parking ratios in Article 135-6 of City Code that articulate minimum off-street parking amounts that are required to serve different uses at a site. A few notes on this:
- Properties in the Downtown area (with a “DX” zoning designation) are not required to provide any off-street parking.
- City Planning staff can administratively approve deviations from the required amount of off-street parking stalls, particularly for “pre-existing’’ sites where providing additional parking spaces is not physically possible.
- Shared parking arrangements with nearby property owners are strongly encouraged, and count towards a site’s parking count.
- Adjacent, abutting, on-street parking spaces also count towards a site’s parking count.
Parking lot landscaping:
Parking lots with 10 or more stalls are required to be landscaped according to the standards outlined in City Code Article 135-7. Standards include interior parking lot tree shading and parking lot row islands. Parking areas that abut a public street are required to install a fence frontage buffer to screen the parking area from public rights of way.
Site Plan required:
New, reconstructed, or reconfigured parking areas require a site plan and conformance with parking lot landscaping standards. Parking lot expansions also require a site plan and may be subject to “full lot” site plan compliance depending on the size of the expansion area (if greater than 50%, full lot compliance is required, if less than 50%, just the area of expansion is required to comply). Simple asphalt overlays with no parking lot reconfiguration do not require a site plan as this is considered a routine maintenance item.
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Outdoor lighting is a critical component of site planning for small businesses, serving not only as a practical necessity but as a tool to create a welcoming, safe, and visually appealing environment. According to Section 8.2.1 of the City’s Planning and Design Ordinance (Chapter 135), all outdoor site lighting—excluding building- or canopy-mounted fixtures and lighting for parking lots—must enhance safety, avoid nuisance-level brightness, and be appropriate to the visual task. Fixtures must be installed in a way that prevents glare and spillover onto adjacent properties or public streets. This means thoughtful design is essential not just for ambiance, but to comply with specific performance standards.
The ordinance sets measurable limits on how much light may cross a property line. Specifically, it uses footcandles to describe allowable light levels. A footcandle is a standard unit of measurement used in lighting design—it refers to the amount of light that falls on a one-square-foot surface from a single candle positioned one foot away. To put it simply, the higher the footcandle, the brighter the light. In residential (N) zoning districts, outdoor lighting at the property edge cannot exceed 0.5 footcandles, which is about the brightness of a dim porch light. In commercial and all other zoning districts, the limit is 2.0 footcandles—similar to moderately bright lighting found in storefront walkways or parking areas. These light levels are measured both at ground level and at a height of five feet above the ground, ensuring that lighting doesn’t intrude into neighboring properties or become a visual nuisance.
To demonstrate compliance when engaging with the site plan review process, business owners are required to submit a photometric plan, essentially a technical lighting diagram. This plan must show projected light levels throughout the site using modeling software, and is reviewed by the City’s Development Services Director. The ordinance also regulates pole heights: freestanding light poles may not exceed 20 feet in areas where vehicles travel, and must be no taller than 15 feet in pedestrian zones. Any lighting located within the public right-of-way must be reviewed and approved by the City Engineer, who considers placement, intensity, color, and design. For small business owners, understanding and planning for these requirements early on is essential. Beyond meeting code, high-quality lighting improves customer comfort, boosts visibility, and helps create an inviting and professional atmosphere—contributing to both business success and neighborhood character.
| | SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE PARTNERS | | CultureALL & the CultureALL Ball | |
CultureALL is a Des Moines–based nonprofit dedicated to cultivating inclusive, connected communities through authentic cultural engagement. Born in 2005 as World of Difference and renamed CultureALL in 2010, the organization was founded to bring meaningful multicultural experiences directly into Iowa classrooms, workplaces, and community spaces. Today, more than 70 CultureALL Ambassadors—immigrants, refugees, and other culturally rich storytellers—bring over 50 distinct cultures to life through educational workshops, “Open Book” events, and dynamic storytelling, serving over 300,000 Iowans with more than 7,000 immersive cultural experiences.
This fall, CultureALL invites the community to its signature event, the CultureALL Ball, a celebration of diversity and small-business entrepreneurship set for September 20 at the Hilton Des Moines Downtown. Guests will pass through a vibrant Global Bazaar, mingle with chefs, performers, and boutique owners, and then dance the night away at an international dance party complete with live lessons and fashion showcases “with rhythm.” The evening is designed not just for fun—but to spotlight and build clientele for local restaurants, dance studios, artists, and boutique businesses by weaving culture, commerce, and community into a single, unforgettable night.
Tickets for the Ball can be purchased at CultureALL Ball Tickets. VIPs enjoy early access beginning at 7 p.m., along with specialty appetizers, cocktails, and a chance to meet the artists and entrepreneurs behind the Bazaar. Beyond the Ball itself, CultureALL’s broader “celebration of small business growth” campaign runs from July through October (and will resume in winter 2026), featuring digital spotlights, dinner‑and‑dance pop‑ups, and VIP concierge experiences that foster lasting connections between Iowans and local cultural entrepreneurs. Bookmark the CultureAll website to stay up-to-date on all programming and upcoming events.
| Avenue Scholars and Des Moines Public Schools' Central Campus | | |
Small business owners, are you looking for the next generation of capable, hardworking, cutting-edge employees? A great place to start is Avenue Scholars and Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus.
Avenue Scholars is a unique educational and career prep program that matches high school students with employers in in-demand fields where entry-level jobs require an associate’s degree or less in training. Students can complete paid pre-apprenticeships or internships as part of the program, and receive specialized coaching from a coterie of devoted support staff. Students “stay in” the program from their entrance in high school, through any postsecondary training, and for their first 6 months of full-time employment to ensure a positive transition to working adulthood.
Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus works closely with Avenue Scholars to identify students that may be interested in more-focused career education and in crafting course offerings that cater to students’ career goals. Through its various Academies , students can get hands-on classroom instruction in fields such as building trades, automotive technology, robotics, and nursing.
If you are a small business owner looking to enhance your workforce, recruiting students who are receiving an Avenue Scholars/Central Campus education could be a great move. Contact Mary Core of Avenue Scholars to discuss in more detail: mcore@avenuescholarsdesmoines.com / 515-210-7148.
| | UPCOMING CLASSES, TRAININGS, & EVENTS | | |
Wednesday, August 27 | One Million Cups
One Million Cups (1MC) is returning to Downtown Des Moines! This weekly entrepreneurial incubator is returning to Downtown Des Moines starting on Wednesday, August 27 at Elevator Spaces, 204 12th Street. This weekly program begins every Wednesday at 8am and is designed to bring a wide range of entrepreneurs together to brainstorm, present and pitch business ideas, share resources, and increase capabilities through intentional collaboration. Elevator Spaces is also offering free coworking abilities at their facilities for 1 MC attendees on Wednesdays after the program concludes. For more information, visit the webpages of both 1 MC and Elevator Spaces.
Wednesday, August 27 | GDMP Top 5 for Small Business Series
Have you wondered how artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to shift your office, storage facility, transportation fleet, kitchen, or shop floor? Next in the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Top 5 for Small Business Series is a discussion on the Future of Work with AI, set for Wednesday, August 27, from 9 to 10am (via Zoom). This session will cover how AI can enhance productivity, alter employment, and generally when it makes sense to use existing AI tools. Speaking on the topic is Angela Green Urbaczewski, a Des Moines metro native, entrepreneur, and nationally-recognized leader in AI workplace policy. More information and registration can be found at this link.
Application deadline: August 29 | Turner School of Construction Management
Turner Construction and Iowa State University CIRAS are gearing up to host the Turner School of Construction Management for its 4th year. Applications are open now and due on August 29. This in-person program is designed for underrepresented construction businesses that are looking to grow their influence and industry-specific business knowledge, win contracts, and develop business with a variety of public and private sector clients. The program runs on Monday evenings September 15 – October 27, 2025 (5:00 – 7:30 pm) at the Master Builders of Iowa Elevate Business and Event Center in West Des Moines (4100 Westown Parkway). Note that the first and last sessions are mandatory if participants are keen on formally graduating from the program, and overall, participants must attend at least 6 of the 7 sessions. Up to 2 participants from a single company are permitted to attend (separate applications are required).
Class topics include:
- Estimating and bidding
- Plan reading
- Contracts, insurance, and prequalification
- RFIs, change management, payment applications
- Scheduling
- Safety
- Business development
- Final panel/pitch, graduation, and networking with industry leaders
To learn more and submit an application, visit this link. If you have any questions, reach out to Mary Zimmerman of ISU CIRAS at ciras@iastate.edu / 515-294-3420.
Wednesday, September 17 and 24, 12-1pm | IA SourceLink Webinar Series
IA SourceLink is hosting a two-part webinar series on succession planning for small businesses. This under-discussed topic is important for small business owners that are thinking about retiring, handing off their business to a trusted associate, or simply closing up shop and moving on to whatever the next thing is. The first session in this series will give an overview of what succession planning is and who the local/regional partners are that can assist with it. The second session in this series will dive into an actual succession plan, help attendees craft their own succession plans, and tinker with different succession strategies that are customized to a business’ specific needs.
*Note: Due to the potentially sensitive nature of this topic, all webinars in this series are virtual and anonymous.
Information and registration links:
Session 1 (Wednesday, September 17, 12-1pm)
Session 2 (Wednesday, September 24, 12-1pm)
Monday, September 22 | Small Business Connect
The next rendition of the Small Business Support Center’s Small Business Connect series is slated for Monday, September 22 from 5:30 to 7pm at The Little Book, 520 Euclid Avenue in the Highland Park neighborhood. Small Business Connect is a quarterly, no-cost, intentional time for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to connect in a loose, no-stakes way with each other as well as with other local small business support services providers. This quarter’s Small Business Connect topic is resilience, and how small business owners can bounce back in the face of adversity and challenging times. Registration is not required, but RSVPs are encouraged so we have a rough idea on how many to expect that evening. To RSVP, send an email to Bre (bbye@dmgov.org) and/or Nick (notarpey@dmgov.org).
Various Fall Dates | GDMP Entrepreneur Field Days
The Greater Des Moines Partnership is getting ready to host another series of Entrepreneur Field Days this fall. Each “field day” is an opportunity to visit a local small business, peel back the curtain and see how the business operates behind the scenes, talk to the business’ owners, and meet other entrepreneurs in a casual setting. These days are fantastic opportunities for small business owners to grow their network and learn firsthand about successes/failures of local entrepreneurs. This year, 6 of the Field Day sites are within the City of Des Moines:
Tuesday, September 9, 4-6pm: Bud and Mary’s, 1953 E Market Street
Thursday, September 18, 11am-1pm: BLK and Bold, 5016 Park Avenue
Wednesday, September 24, 12-2pm: Cyclone Fanatic, 500 Locust Street
Thursday, October 2, 12-2pm: Repinned Upholstery, 3811 56th Street
Tuesday, October 14, 10am-12pm: Musa’s Lemonade, 500 Locust Street
Friday, October 17, 12-2pm: Infinite Resources/AmplifiedDSM, 500 SW 7th Street
More information and registration links can be found here.
Have an event idea you want to be featured? Feel free to drop us a line, we are always looking to add events to our calendar.
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Scale DSM
Congratulations to the newest cohort of the Scale DSM Business Accelerator, a program of the Greater Des Moines Partnership designed to help diverse businesses grow and thrive. Over the next seven months, participants will dive into strategic planning, financial management, marketing, and leadership development—backed by one-on-one coaching and a network of support to help them scale sustainably.
This year’s cohort features a notable crop of Des Moines-based businesses: Repinned Luxury Upholstery Workroom, McCormally & Cosgrove, PLLC, Candy’s Cleaning, 21st Century Trading Company LLC, Sensiil Studios, Whitfield’s Lawn and Garden, Nadia’s French Bakery, Studio Siembra, General Cab USA, Modas Marilyn, and Crown Cleaning. We’re excited to follow their growth and celebrate the impact they’re making in our community.
Beer Champions!
Des Moines breweries made a strong showing at this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship, with Confluence, Exile, and Flix Brewhouse bringing home medals. Confluence Brewing earned top honors, named Brewery of the Year in its class. The national competition drew over 8,000 entries across more than 170 categories—cheers to our local brewers for standing out on the world stage!
Latina Business Excellence Summit
The 2025 Latina Business Excellence Summit, held earlier this month at Drake University, brought together a powerful community of Latina entrepreneurs and leaders from across Iowa and the Midwest. Hosted by JEFAS Latinas in Business Magazine, the event focused on the theme “Health: Intersecting Financial, Physical, and Mental Well-being,” offering workshops, panel discussions, and networking centered on holistic success in business and life.
Coordinated by the team behind Hola America Media Group, the summit continues to grow as a platform for visibility, empowerment, and connection among Latina-owned businesses. We were energized to attend and witness firsthand the energy, insight, and momentum building across this network of women-led enterprises. To explore JEFAS Magazine or learn more about the summit, visit the Jefas Magazine website.
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Iowa Latino Hospitality Awards
Last week, the Iowa Latino Hospitality Council celebrated the achievements of aspiring hospitality professionals by awarding Front of House pins to 16 students and presenting more than 100 ServSafe and ServSafe Alcohol certificates at a special ceremony. The event highlighted the growing impact of training and certification programs that support career development and strengthen Iowa’s hospitality workforce.
| | CITY OF DES MOINES SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT CENTER | | |
If you or someone you know is a small business just starting out, looking to expand, or just wants to hear about what types of resources/assistance are available within the City of Des Moines, we'd love to hear from you!
How can we help?
- Assess how “ready” small businesses are to open up a physical location in the City
- Refer small businesses to the City’s various resource partners (think: Small Business Administration, lending institutions, business development organizations, etc.)
- Provide parameters for individuals looking for physical space in the City, and outlining City requirements before businesses formally engage with City processes
- Interface with the City’s various Chambers of Commerce and other community partners
- Meet with various agencies, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and other organizations in the City’s small business ecosystem to hear the opportunities, challenges, successes, and barriers for small businesses in Des Moines
- Visit businesses and try to tell their story (see: this week’s newsletter!)
- Connect small businesses with other Departments/divisions at the City
- Provide a “small business” perspective for the City’s overall land development strategy
- Attend community events and provide information on City processes/procedures and available small business assistance within the community
Please share this newsletter with others.
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“Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall. But, you keep going.”
― Yasmin Mogahed
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