Waukee's Barbarian tasting menu restaurant inside Kinship Brewing closes

Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
Roasted beets, apple, and smoked salmon at Barbarian.
Roasted beets, apple, and smoked salmon at Barbarian.

Barbarian, the tasting menu restaurant inside Kinship Brewing Co. in Waukee, has permanently closed.

Lincoln Savings Bank filed for foreclosure against Kinship Brewing at 255 N.W. Sunrise Drive in Waukee on Oct. 26. The brewery and its holding company, Sunrise Drive Acquisitions, owe Lincoln Savings Bank almost $6 million, according to the foreclosure action.

Twelve full-time employees at the brewery lost their jobs, according to two sources with knowledge of the Kinship situation.

Barbarian opened in January inside Kinship Brewing with a fine-dining menu of experimental new American modern cuisine. Only about 32 people could dine at a time in the space between the brewery and the large patio area, and reservations often filled as they were posted.

The coffee-rubbed beef tenderloin at Barbarian comes with whipped blue cheese and frites puree.
The coffee-rubbed beef tenderloin at Barbarian comes with whipped blue cheese and frites puree.

Executive chef Jacob Demars told the Des Moines Register that he created Barbarian as a dinner series strictly at Kinship and does not plan to move it to a new location.

“If we had hit December, it would have sold out for a year straight,” Demars said.

Barbarian served artfully decorated plates featuring inspired flavor combinations from Demars, who formerly owned and operated RI Restaurant in Windsor Heights.

The chef said he would like to start his own restaurant again and may hold some pop-up dinners through the winter, moving away from the exploratory and experimental tasting menus.

Demars' goal, he said: “Being able to get back into a restaurant where people are coming in and sitting down, and they have the same quality of services, the food and everything's matching that level of service.”

“That's what I want to get back to rather than the dinner series of pop-ups, which I feel like I've done for so long.”

Demars said he reached out to diners with Barbarian reservations to tell them that he would alert them to his next venture.

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: Barbarian tasting menu restaurant inside Kinship Brewing closes