Already reeling, downtown bars and restaurants pick up the pieces after protest damage

Philip Joens
Des Moines Register

Spaghetti Works General Manager Tracy Vannoni woke up to a phone call at 7 a.m. Sunday, telling her that the restaurant had its door and a window next to it broken by protesters overnight.

Vannoni had gone to bed at 2 a.m., just before protesters shattered windows at several businesses and broke into the nearby Hy-Vee store in the Court Avenue entertainment district downtown. More than 25 arrests were made on Court Avenue between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. as protesters who had marched through downtown and the East Village —repeatedly clashing with police — gathered there and vandalized businesses, police said.

“As far as I knew, when I went to bed we were fine," Vannoni said.

Spaghetti Works at 310 Court Avenue had its door window and a small window next to the door broken by protesters early Sun. May 31, 2020.

A block east on Court Avenue, the District Bar and Grill had several windows broken. At the Hy-Vee a block west, protesters smashed windows and liquor bottles and overturned cash registers, Hy-Vee spokeswoman Tina Potthoff said.

No injuries were reported at Hy-Vee and staff was not in the building at the time of the break-in, Potthoff said. 

“This whole thing is extremely unfortunate, but the most important thing is the safety of our employees,” she said. "I think we’re being cautious to protect our employees. We’re taking the precautions we feel we need to take.”

At Vannoni's restaurant around 11 a.m. Sunday, a window company was boarding up the remaining windows to protect them from more violence. The custom windows are not cheap — a small one on the door alone cost $600, she said.

Yet Spaghetti Works got lucky, Vannoni said as she surveyed the damage to other nearby businesses, some of it far more extensive.

“In the grand scheme of things, it could’ve been so much worse,” she said. 

Scott Carlson, managing partner at Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Company across the street from Vannoni, wiped tables around 10:30 a.m. He and a colleague had just finished cleaning graffiti off their building. Just a few feet away, a large window had been shattered.

Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Company at 309 Court Avenue had a window broken and was spray painted by protesters early Sun. May 31, 2020.

Carlson saw the protests Saturday night, but by the time the mayhem on Court Avenue started around 2:30 a.m., he was no longer in the bar.

It was the latest of many challenges the brewpub, which bills itself as Des Moines' oldest, has faced since opening in 1993, just after record floods, he said. 

“We’ve seen it all,” he said. “The floods of 1993, 9/11, the floods of 2008, the economic downturn of 2008,” he said.

And then there was the latest one: the COVID-19 pandemic that forced Iowa restaurants to close their dining rooms in mid-March. After having to lay off much of its staff, Spaghetti Works was planning to reopen Monday, Vannoni said.

It still will, though employees are worried they will be forced to close again because of the protests.

“We were really stoked about opening back up,” said Lesslie Nealley, also of Spaghetti Works. "Getting back to work and getting things going, and then this happens."

With carry-out the only service allowed during the pandemic shutdown, Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing’s business decreased by 90%, Carlson said. 

But by noon Sunday, Court Avenue was filled with flocks of people, some gawking at the damage. Zack and Liz Norton showed their support by handing out doughnuts to workers, including Vannoni.

Liz Norton, left, and Zack Norton, right, handed a dozen glazed doughnuts to businesses owners on Court Avenue Sun. May 31, 2020 to show their support for local businesses. Several businesses on Court Avenue had windows broken between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. by people protesting the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd.

“The biggest thing is, come back down," Carlson said. "Support local businesses. Have lunch. It’s safe. We want to serve them if they want to be served."

Philip Joens covers breaking news for The Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens. 

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