Urbandale Restaurant Gets Facelift; Reopens After Five Months

Irina's Restaurant and Bar has the same menu - American food with a Russian flare - but returning customers will find little else is familiar. 

Thehas been remodeled inside after its roof collapsed in June. The result is a more open dining and bar area, larger kitchen, and a more private dining area for special groups.

Two chefs are new as well. But owners Irina Khartchenko and Dmitri Iakovlev will be there to greet returning customers.

The restaurant and bar have been open for a few days as regulars have stopped by, said Khartchenko.

"Everybody is very impressed and said how much they missed us," she said. "Everybody has been very supportive. A lot of them have been checking on us.

The couple were having a new roof put on the building in June. The old roof had been torn off, but the new one wasn't yet on when the rainstorm hit.

"It was raining inside like it was outside," she said. 

The owners took out the booths and replaced them with tables. They made a more private dining room on the south side of the building that will accommodate up to 65 people for special parties, receptions, or business events.

Khartchenko said a projector will be installed that can be used for PowerPoint presentations at business gatherings or photos at a wedding reception.

If you want to enjoy some free samples of wine, beer and appetizers, Saturday is the day to go and check out the place, but Khartchenko said she expects it to be a busy party atmosphere. If you want dinner, it's better to go another night, she suggested.

Khartchenko also noted that her restaurant is one place you can go to late, getting food almost up to the time the kitchen closes at midnight on week nights and 2 a.m. on weekends.