For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (c)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org
DES MOINES, IOWA (June 3, 2025) – The Des Moines Art Center is excited to announce the Art Center Café, presented by la mie, is open! In partnership with la mie and its owners, Joe and Christina Logsdon, the Art Center Café features a counter service eatery operating in the Art Center’s distinctive, light-filled café, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier in 1985.
The Art Center Café menu, built on seasonality and freshness, features la mie’s artisan-made patisserie alongside hand-crafted plated dishes, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and more. A wide range of espresso and tea drinks, plus a selection of wine and beer, will be offered. Marketplace items such as packaged sandwiches, pastas, and baked goods are available to enjoy in the café or to take home.
Patrons to the café will enjoy banquet-style seating, a community table where diners can eat solo or join in conversation with others, an espresso machine complete with a full menu of specialty coffee and espresso beverages, and a kid-friendly menu for the Art Center’s youngest patrons. Those who dine-in will enjoy all-new furniture, tableware, and glassware, while those who choose to grab and go can select from freshly packaged items offered in newly installed cooler cases.
“We’re thrilled to work in collaboration with la mie to welcome guests back to our beautiful café and Bookey Family Courtyard, where they can once again dine and relax in comfort and style,” says John and Mary Pappajohn Director and CEO, Kelly Baum. “Joe and Christina bring enormous expertise and creativity to this endeavor. Thanks to their brilliance and dedication, we have been able to reinvent our café and bring the spirit of the much-loved la mie to the Art Center.”
The Art Center Café will host a variety of special events including themed dinners, happy hours on Thursday and Friday evenings when the Art Center is open until 7 pm, and Pizza Saturdays featuring local pizza vendors and wine specials. The first Pizza Saturday is Saturday, July 5 from 2 – 4 pm. Follow the Des Moines Art Center’s social media for updates on future events.
Visit the Art Center Café Thursday, June 26 through Saturday, June 28, for a Grand Opening Celebration featuring menu specials, music from 4 – 6 pm on Thursday and Friday, and specially designed merch to celebrate the much-anticipated Des Moines Art Center and la mie collaboration.
Café at the Art Center hours are:
Tuesday/ Wednesday 10 am – 3 pm
Thursday/ Friday 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday/ Sunday 10 am – 4 pm
The café may occasionally close earlier to accommodate private events.
For upcoming events and a full menu, visit the Art Center’s website at desmoinesartcenter.org.
About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Association of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. Its historic campus consists of three buildings designed by major architects of the 20th century—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier—incorporated into the natural landscape of Greenwood Park. The Art Center is home to one of the strongest collections of 20th and 21st century art in the region, and it hosts a series of ground-breaking exhibitions and lectures each year featuring artists known regionally, nationally, and internationally. The experimental art for which the Art Center cares is reflected in its creative offerings, including a celebrated education program that prioritizes access and collaboration, an art school with studio classes for all ages, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, situated on 4.4 acres in downtown Des Moines. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.
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