Pizza, steakhouse restaurants opening in Ankeny's former Fletcher building
Two new restaurants are opening on Ankeny's north side with industry veterans at the helm.
The Fletcher Kitchen + Bar, 1802 N. Ankeny Boulevard, permanently closed earlier this year after first announcing a temporary closure due to staffing issues. Two new establishments are preparing to open there, including Nonna's Pizza & Pasta and Filet Steakhouse.
Nonna's will serve New York-style pizza. Ankeny residents might know owners and New Yorkers Donnie Hizeqaj and Mike Kabashi from Portofino's, a pizza and Italian restaurant, down the street at 711 S. Ankeny Boulevard, before they sold their ownership stake.
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Hizeqaj said Nonna's will offer a unique dining experience, with a menu full of hand-tossed pizza and pasta alongside other dishes like chicken and salad. "You're going to have so many different types of pizza (at Nonna's) that you could possibly even imagine," he said.
Oscar Juarez said he also is excited about his new venture, Filet Steakhouse, which he described as a steakhouse with a casual vibe. Juarez was in management at The Big Steer steakhouse in Altoona, 1715 Adventureland Drive, where he worked for 11 years, and eventually decided it was time to do his own thing. The highlight of the menu will be filets, but it will offer the full range of cuts done in-house.
Neither restaurant has a firm opening date. Nonna's should open in the next few weeks, while plans are still in the works for Filet Steakhouse.
The Fletcher opened in Ankeny on the site of a renovated Dahl's grocery store in 2016 before closing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It re-opened in 2021 with new management and a new plan in place before ultimately closing for good this year.
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What once was a massive, 13,000-square-foot restaurant is now split into the two new businesses. Also on site is Mistress Brewing Co. and Sweet To Eat Bakery And Cake Shop.
Another recent addition nearby is Slim Chickens, a fried chicken chain.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Juarez's role at The Big Steer and the ownership status of Portofino's.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pizza place and steakhouse opening in Ankeny's old Fletcher building
