Late last month, a faulty thermostat in the kitchen hood system at LUX set off the fire-suppression system and flooded the restaurant. Axios Des Moines reported that staff spent three days cleaning and repairing the space before reopening. LUX had only been open since August.
LUX is a new venture from three Vietnamese friends who call themselves the LTJ Group. They came to it from the nail-salon business. Look at who else opened along Grand Prairie Parkway this year and you see the same thing over and over. Most of the newest spots are run by Des Moines-area restaurant groups and franchise owners expanding into west Waukee. The out-of-state names are coming next spring, a few miles north at Hickman and Alice's Road.
So this fall is a good stretch for anyone in Waukee to learn the parkway's locally run restaurants by name before the bigger brands arrive.
A strip built by people from down the road
Food writer Wini Moranville has a name for these far-west reaches of the city. In her Dining Well in DSM column she calls them "Wauk-aha" and writes that restaurants have "poured into the Kettlestone and Grand Prairie Parkway area" since 2024. Her list of what's open there includes Pancheros, Olive Garden, The Breakfast Club, Charlotte's Kitchen, Mullet's, Freddy's, Wayback Burgers, Hawaiian Bros, and a sports bar called The Huddle.
Some of those are national names. The 2026 arrivals mostly have roots in the metro:
| Restaurant | Address | Who's behind it |
|---|---|---|
| LUX Asian Restaurant and Bar | 3150 Grand Prairie Pkwy., Suite 150 | LTJ Group, three friends who came from the nail-salon business |
| The Huddle | 2285 Grand Prairie Pkwy., Suite 100 | Dark Side of the Spoon, the hospitality group behind The Breakfast Club and Wellman's Pub in West Des Moines |
| Mullets | 1105 SE Pleasant View Dr. | The casual spot that started on the downtown Des Moines riverfront; Waukee is its fourth metro location |
| Charlotte's Kitchen | 1165 S.E. University Ave. | A Des Moines-area chicken spot opening its fourth location |
| Pancheros | 2980 Grand Prairie Pkwy., #100 | Shelly and Tyson Robinson, the longtime franchise owners of the West Des Moines and Johnston Pancheros |
Four of those five are expansions by operators who already run restaurants elsewhere in the metro, and the fifth is a new local venture.
LUX is the one with a chef's name on it
Moranville picked LUX as the newcomer most likely to turn this stretch into "an actual dining destination." The owners wanted the chef, not themselves, to be the public face. That chef is Raelynn Brockman, an Iowa Culinary Institute graduate whose résumé includes HomeGrown, Cafe Trellis, and Harbinger.
The food is Vietnamese-forward Asian fare. Moranville described it as more polished than the lunchroom-style spots where Vietnamese food is often served. In her first look, she named a few dishes and their prices:
- Mama's Classic Egg Rolls, $8, filled with pork, vegetables, cellophane noodles, and mushrooms
- Crispy Pork Belly Banh Mi, $13 and lunch only, finished with yuzu kewpie
- Shaken Beef, $26 at lunch and $30 at dinner, which she called a way to order beef filet "without wincing at the price"
The dining room has cream-upholstered chairs, cognac-colored booths, an open kitchen, and a backlit bar in the lounge. She also gave the service high marks: "astute, welcoming, professional, and personable." LUX serves lunch and dinner daily, and the number is (515) 209-9999. Its lunch and dinner menus are posted on the restaurant's Facebook page, which is also where it posted updates during the flood closure.
The Axios writeup explained why it matters: LUX "gives the Grand Prairie Parkway corridor another destination as restaurants and retail follow Waukee's rapid growth."
The Huddle and The Breakfast Club share an owner
If you've eaten at The Breakfast Club on the parkway, you've already tried one place from the group behind The Huddle. Business Record reported that The Huddle is operated by Dark Side of the Spoon. The same group owns The Breakfast Club, El Presidente, Rita's Cantina, Grimaldi's, 1908 Draught House, Shotgun Betty's, and Wellman's Pub in West Des Moines.
The Huddle sits in Kettlestone Central, a development from Caliber Co. It has 36 TV screens and a covered patio with fireplaces. The patio is the detail to remember as nights get colder. Co-owner Michelle Tovrea described the goal in a release quoted by Business Record:
"Our vision is to create a fun, comfortable environment where families, friends and sports fans can come together over great food and drinks."
Business Record said Tovrea and her husband, Travis, founded The Huddle with Tom and Annie Baldwin. Moranville listed it among the open spots in her Sept. 29 column.
Mullets brings the riverfront model west
Mullets opened its original breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in mid-2010 near where the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers meet, right on the Meredith Trail. It added an Ankeny location in 2023 and a Norwalk location in June 2025. Waukee is number four.
The Waukee Mullets is in a new commercial building at the northeast corner of Grand Prairie Parkway and Southeast Pleasant View Drive, developed by Timbercrest Homes LLC. Building plans described in Business Record's May report showed:
- About 140 seats inside, with wood-paneled walls and exposed ceiling beams like the other Mullets locations
- A covered patio seating about 40, looking out over a detention pond
- A bar with large pass-thru garage-style windows
The restaurant was expected to open in June, and Moranville listed it among the open spots by late September.
Charlotte's Kitchen and Pancheros round out the fall
Charlotte's Kitchen first announced a "winter 2026" target for its fourth location, at 1165 S.E. University Ave. near Grand Prairie Parkway. Then it opened early. A post dated Oct. 1 on the Charlotte's Kitchen site says, "WAUKEE, WE'RE OPEN!" The Waukee location has a full dining room and a drive-thru. In its announcement, the restaurant spoke to people in Waukee and West Des Moines "who's been making the drive out to see us."
Pancheros was set to open its second Waukee restaurant on Sept. 8 at 2980 Grand Prairie Pkwy., #100, near the corner of Ashworth Road, according to Axios Des Moines. The local franchise owners behind the West Des Moines and Johnston locations are running it.
Next spring, the mix shifts at Hickman and Alice's Road
Next spring brings a different kind of tenant list. Waukee Towne Center, at the intersection of Hickman and Alice's Road, has a grand opening set for late spring 2027, WHO 13 reported. The first restaurants announced there are The Hampton Social, The End Bar, and 30hop.
The developer's tenant announcement calls Hampton Social and The End Bar first-to-state concepts. Both are coming from Parker Hospitality. The Hampton Social is planned as a 7,500-square-foot coastal-inspired restaurant, and The End Bar as a separate 2,000-square-foot spot for cocktails, shareable bites, and big games. A 7,000-square-foot 30hop will sit on the water, overlooking the lake and the amphitheater. The center also plans a 6-acre lake, a walk and bike path that connects to the regional trail system, a winter ice-skating rink, and an amphitheater.
Some of it is already open. Target, Freddy's Steakburgers, Hyper Energy Bar, LOF Xpress Oil Change, and Olive Garden are operating at the center, and Dutch Bros Coffee, Crisp & Green, and Jersey Mike's were expected soon as of WHO 13's Aug. 31 report. Developer Mike Pierson of Pierson Companies said more "first-to-market concepts" would be announced in the weeks ahead.
Once that center opens, west Waukee will have two dining areas with different backers. The Grand Prairie Parkway strip is mostly local restaurant groups and franchise owners. The Towne Center leans toward brands that are new to Iowa. For the next several months, the parkway restaurants have the west side mostly to themselves.
Pairing dinner with something on the city calendar
The City of Waukee calendar has a few October events that pair well with an early dinner on the parkway:
- Movie in the Park, Friday, Oct. 23. Hotel Transylvania is showing at Centennial Park, 1255 Warrior Lane, starting at dusk around 6:30 p.m. It's free. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for the grassy area near the open shelter, and snacks are welcome.
- Haunted Hall of Tortured, Twisted Terrors, Fridays and Saturdays in October. It's at Timberline West RV Campground, 31635 Ashworth Road. The first hour each night is toned down for younger kids and "scaredy cats."
- Trick or Treat Night, Saturday, Oct. 31. Door-to-door trick-or-treating runs citywide from 6 to 8 p.m.
If you're settled in Waukee and keeping an eye on how fast the west side is growing, or wondering what a spot near Grand Prairie Parkway or the future Towne Center could mean for your next move, the Knickerbocker Real Estate Team is glad to talk it through over coffee, or over egg rolls at LUX. Contact Us whenever you're ready.
