When your out-of-town family walks out of a movie at Cinemark Century Jordan Creek 20 and XD this Thanksgiving weekend, where are you taking them to eat?
A year ago that was easy to answer from memory. Now the answer depends on which building you mean. The casual-dining chains that sat around Jordan Creek Town Center for most of its life have closed one by one, and the restaurants replacing them have a different idea of what dinner is. The first of them opened two weeks ago. The rest open between now and some point in 2027. For the holidays, that means the edge of the mall has fewer places to sit down than it has had in years.
The mall said out loud what it wanted
None of this happened quietly. In June, Jordan Creek's senior general manager Randy Tennison told WHO13 that the town center was over 99% occupied, with tenants already lined up for the few open spaces. He said the mall's strategy plainly.
"We're focusing on the experience, we're focusing on the amenities, what do people want, getting the right tenants in here, the right restaurants."
In the same WHO13 interview, Tennison pointed to Apple and Lego as stores that draw people in by giving them something to do, and he called restaurants a key part of that. The 99% figure is from June 2026, so treat it as the mall's own snapshot from that interview. It still explains a lot. A mall that full can be picky, and the restaurants it has picked are built around a show, a gimmick or a scratch kitchen you can see.
One building at a time
Here is each old space, what's going in, and where things stand as of early November 2026.
| Former tenant | What's replacing it | Address | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panera Bread | Kura Revolving Sushi Bar | 101 Jordan Creek Pkwy., Space 12530 | Open since Oct. 22, 2026 |
| Bar Louie, closed Sept. 2025 | Ugly Dumpling | 7105 Mills Civic Pkwy., Suite 150 | Coming soon, no opening date |
| Joe's Crab Shack, now demolished | Yard House | 130 S. Jordan Creek Pkwy. | Under construction, April 2027 expected |
| On The Border, closed early 2025 | Meddys | Former On The Border space | 2027 opening |
| Bravo! Italian Kitchen, reported closed Sept. 4, 2026 | No replacement announced | Mall perimeter | Empty |
Look at the right-hand column. One of the five is open. Three won't open before the holidays, and one has no tenant at all.
Kura is what Tennison meant
The restaurant that fits the mall's pitch best is also the one you can try today. The Des Moines Register calls the Jordan Creek Kura Iowa's first. It describes twin conveyor belts, touchscreen ordering, robot servers that bring drinks, and the Bikkura Pon prize game, which gives a reward every 15 plates. Small Japanese dishes ride past your table and you pay by the plate. Anything made to order, like softshell crab tempura or kitsune udon, comes on a separate express belt.
It's in the old Panera space near the theater. A few practical notes for a busy weekend:
- Reservations work through Kura's app, website or the kiosk inside the restaurant, and walk-ins are welcome.
- The waitlist texts you updates once you're on it, so you can browse the mall while you wait.
- Opening hours were noon to 9 p.m. for Oct. 22 through 24. Kura's West Des Moines page is the place to check regular hours before you go.
Panera was a place to grab a quick meal. Kura is a place to keep a table of kids busy for an hour. That's the trade Jordan Creek is making with almost every space on the list.
The rest of the pipeline follows the same pattern
The restaurants still under construction take the same idea in different directions.
Ugly Dumpling is taking over the old Bar Louie south of the mall. The Register described it as a Shanghai-style street food restaurant, and the Register's headline pitched it to fans of soup dumplings and dim sum. When the Register reported it on Oct. 8, construction was about to start. The space had been empty for more than a year by then. Ugly Dumpling's locations page still lists West Des Moines as coming soon.
Yard House is past the planning stage. KCCI reported in February that the chain wanted to tear down the closed Joe's Crab Shack and put up a new 9,600-square-foot building. By August, Business Record reported that Joe's had been demolished and a July building permit valued the new restaurant at $4 million. The City Council approved Yard House's liquor license on Sept. 8 as part of its consent agenda. The Register expects it to open in April 2027 and describes it as a chain known for a huge draft beer list and a large scratch-made menu.
Meddys is a polished casual concept that started in Wichita, Kansas. It's moving into the old On The Border space, which the Register called "long-vacant," with a 2027 opening. On its website, Meddys highlights made-to-order hummus, shawarma and salads, all made from scratch.
Inside the mall, the change is already underway. The owners of Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery in Urbandale opened Doner Street in the food court in September. It's a halal Turkish counter where the spiced chicken, lamb or beef is stacked on a vertical spit and sliced to order. Exotic Snack Guys has also announced a Jordan Creek store selling rare and hard-to-find international snacks and drinks.
A rotisserie you can watch, a dumpling kitchen, a wall of taps, made-to-order hummus. Each one fits Tennison's description of the right restaurant.
The gap falls right on the holidays
The new concepts are arriving slowly, and the timing matters for anyone hosting this season. The perimeter has also lost its most holiday-friendly sit-down restaurant. In a Sept. 4 report on the closure, the Register noted that Bravo! Italian Kitchen opened in 2006 and became a go-to for families, especially on holidays, when it offered both takeout and dine-in. No replacement has been announced for that space.
Here's how the calendar falls from here:
- Now through the holidays: Kura, Doner Street and the rest of the food court are open. The Bravo! space is dark, and Ugly Dumpling has no opening date.
- April 2027: Yard House is expected to open at 130 S. Jordan Creek Pkwy.
- Later in 2027: Meddys opens in the old On The Border space, with no specific month announced.
So for a large holiday group that wants a full sit-down Italian or Tex-Mex dinner, the outer edge of Jordan Creek has fewer of those choices this year than it had in 2024. Most of what's new and open is near the theater or inside the food court.
A short list for guests this month
If family is in town in November, the newest spots near Jordan Creek that are actually open right now are:
- Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, 101 Jordan Creek Pkwy., Space 12530, near the theater. Join the waitlist from your phone before the movie ends.
- Doner Street in the Jordan Creek food court, for a quick halal Turkish meal between stores.
- QDOBA at 6305 Mills Civic Pkwy. It opened June 23, 2026, is open 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and is the local operator's second QDOBA.
Kura is the restaurant to plan an outing around. The other two are the ones you'll see changing the signs on a regular shopping trip.
We'll keep watching the Bravo! space, the Ugly Dumpling build-out and the Yard House site through spring, and we're glad to tell you what we're seeing around Jordan Creek. If you want to talk through what's changing near your street, Ingrid Williams Real Estate Team is happy to help. Start Your Next Move.
