A fire destroyed the closed-down Jethro’s BBQ building by Drake University on Sunday, Feb. 16.

Firefighters were able to control the blaze by 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 17. As of Friday, Feb. 21, the cause of the fire remains to be determined, according to the Des Moines Register.

The now-vacant building at 3100 Forest Ave. once housed the first location of Jethro’s BBQ, a barbecue restaurant chain popular in the state of Iowa. Jethro’s owner Bruce Gerleman closed the restaurant for remodeling in December 2021, with plans to reopen it by the time March Madness started the following spring.

After purchasing a new building downtown, Gerleman opted to close the Jethro’s by Drake permanently and opened Jethro’s BBQ All Stars in downtown Des Moines. Gerleman posted a statement on Facebook following the fire at his former property.

“I am deeply saddened to hear about the fire that destroyed the former Jethro’s Drake location,” Gerleman said. “That building holds so many cherished memories of the great times we all shared there. Jethro’s began in this very spot, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Jethro’s BBQ first opened on April 20, 2008 and served many customers, from Drake students to alumni to members of the Des Moines community. Since premiering by Drake in 2008, Jethro’s has expanded to nine locations throughout Iowa.

Students who attended Drake while this Jethro’s was open enjoyed the experiences they had there. Drake alumnus Jack Grotenhuis, who graduated in 2024, talked about the atmosphere when he and his friends would go.

“The atmosphere was what you would expect at a sports bar, yet there was a different vibe to it when you sat outside,” Grotenhuis said. “Personally, I enjoyed sitting outside when it was nice out.”

Other Drake alumni, such as Vince Carioti, who also graduated in 2024, talked about the atmosphere and the deals Jethro’s would have on Thursdays that people would enjoy.

“They always had a deal on Thursday for half-price wings that was great for college students,” Carioti said. “The atmosphere was like a typical sports bar. Imagine a Buffalo Wild Wings but a bit tighter knit.”

Before Jethro’s opened on Forest Avenue in 2008, the location had previously served as a dispatch station for the Des Moines Police Department. Prior to that, the location previously housed a Pizza Hut restaurant, which closed in May 1997.

In 2010, Adam Richman, host of the TV show “Man v. Food” visited the Jethro’s by Drake. The episode premiered on Oct. 6, 2010, with Richman attempting to eat the Adam Emmeneckersandwich in 15 minutes.

The sandwich featured five and a half pounds of smoked meat and, at the time of the episode, only three people had eaten all of it. Richman attempted to finish it in the allocated time, but failed to do so.

The Adam Emmenecker sandwich was named after a former Drake Men’s Basketball point guard of that name. He led the Bulldogs to a Missouri Valley Conference Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and won the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award, all in 2008.

Confusion lingers about planned new restaurant

After Gerleman closed down the Jethro’s by Drake permanently, he sold the building to a company that planned to open a new restaurant in its place. In his Facebook post, Gerleman said that “the current owners are a company registered in Arizona” but didn’t share the name of said company.

The planned restaurant was supposed to be a Doc Holliday’s Roadhouse, a frontier-themed venue. It currently houses two locations, one in Williston, North Dakota and a second in Galveston, Texas.

A sign for a planned Doc Holliday’s Roadhouse was first hung up in the spring of 2023 in the vacant building. However, after some construction on the property, the sign was removed with no explanation.

Even after the fire at 3100 Forest Ave., the plans for the property remain unclear. There is no evidence of construction moving forward with Doc Holliday’s and there have been no listings for selling the property.

According to a previous Times-Delphic article, Doc Holliday’s had an active building permit with the City of Des Moines, with Dennis Pacifico of Williston Holding Company as the permit business owner. Pacifico was also listed as the LLC manager on the application for a liquor license for Holliday’s.

Another LLC, Stampede Des Moines LLC, is registered as the land owner, according to the state auditor’s office. An article by the Des Moines Register lists Stampede Des Moines as the owner of the building.

It remains unclear what the future holds for the former Jethro’s location.

Gerleman did not respond to multiple requests for an interview from The Times-Delphic in time for publication.