Haiku, a sushi and Asian fusion restaurant on 31st Street across from the Drake University campus, has permanently closed, the Des Moines Register announced on Nov. 11. The Iowa Secretary of State website has confirmed that the business has gone inactive.
Lefty’s Live Music, a live music venue and full-service bar east of campus on University Avenue, also announced on its Facebook page on Nov. 13 that it will be closing at the end of the year after 10 years of being open.
“As our tenth year draws to a close and after much consideration, we’ve made the challenging decision to say goodbye before the new year,” Anne Mathy and Erik Brown, the owners of Lefty’s, said in the Facebook post. “Lefty’s Live Music has been an incredible journey, one full of friendship, magic and music.”
With the closing of Lefty’s, Haiku and Black Cat Ice Cream on June 30, three Drake neighborhood businesses have closed in four months.
Before Lefty’s came to the area, there were many other clubs in the building where Lefty’s is now. Originally, it started as The Safari Club, which welcomed bands like Slipknot. In 2015, Mathy and Brown bought the bar.
Mathy and Brown named the bar after their three-legged dog, Lefty.
“He had little ear protection. He was here all the time, the whole 10 years, almost. He passed in [2022] at almost 17,” Mathy said.
To Mathy, Lefty made a perfect mascot for the bar.
“He’s absolutely just one of those dogs that loved everybody, and could work a room like nobody else,” Mathy said. “I’d be like, ‘Where’s Lefty?’ and I find him in a booth in the corner with some guy, sobbing like, ‘I really just needed a dog. I just broke up with my girlfriend.’ He just found where he needed to be all the time.”
Haiku’s first closure in July 2024 was announced in a Facebook post. That closing didn’t last, and new owners took over shortly after. This time, there was no announcement of the restaurant’s closing.
Haiku served a variety of Asian fusion foods, including sushi, pho, stir fry and Thai and Lao food.
Drake Chief of Staff Nate Reagan highlighted some new businesses in the Drake neighborhood.
“It’s very unfortunate as both Haiku and Lefty’s have been part of the Drake Neighborhood for a long time,” Reagan said in an email interview. “On a positive note, we have had several new businesses recently come to Dogtown such as: Nos Books, Shelf Love, Café Chai, and Hugo’s. Their collective impact has been quite positive and they have all been engaged in the community.”
