2024 Prediction: This Restaurant Could Be a Game-Changer

We’ve been talking about “farm to table” for the past 25 years. This farming family—and a James Beard-shortlisted chef—will bring the table to the farm in Cumming next year.

Every few years, someone opens up a place that moves the needle on the food scene in Des Moines, and what they do catches on, bettering our restaurant landscape in significant ways that eventually take hold. A few examples: In 1997, Bistro 43 opened with a focus on seasonal, chef-driven food that raised the standards for our better restaurants. In the early 2000s, Centro brought everyone back downtown for the kind of stylish, big-city, see-and-be seen hotspot that really caught on. Later, Eatery A nudged casual American food beyond bar-grill standards; others followed suit.

What’s next?

Owned by the Rasch family, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm has been operating an orchard, farm, restaurant, and farm stand outside of Iowa City since 2017; next spring, they’ll open a similar venue, which will also include an on-site cidery, near Cumming, Iowa.

You know how we’ve been talking about “farm to table” for the past 25 years? Well, why not bring the table to the farm? The Rasch family has done it …