A Windsor Heights restaurant specializing in breakfast temporarily closes

Little Brother , the breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in Windsor Heights, temporarily closed on Sunday, according to posts on Instagram and Facebook .

“It is with a heavy heart that as a family, we have made the difficult decision to put a temporary pause on Little Brother effective at the end of service today 08/25, and will be closing the doors at 1pm,” the message from owners Joe and Alex Tripp started.

The couple, who opened Little Brother in 2022 and initially served breakfast through dinner, said that a “key staff member” at Harbinger , their vegetable-forward restaurant with Asian influences on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines, departed. “… our priorities must be focused there right now, and as we are also nearing the end of our lease here, we are taking this time to weigh negotiations with our landlords while we further evaluate if continuing with Little Brother is what’s best for us, and what that may look like.”

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The couple also owns Basic Bird , the Korean fried chicken and street food restaurant that opened in the Beaverdale neighborhood in January.

The Little Brother menu included a breakfast sandwich and Manischewitz-braised short rib skillet as well as lemon blueberry blintzes and yeasted waffles. The restaurant also offered some diner fare, such as a chicken pot pie and barbecue meatloaf.

Joe Tripp earned five semifinalist nods from the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef Midwest while he was the chef at Alba in the East Village and then went on to open Harbinger, named one of the 47 best restaurants in the country by USA TODAY in February. It's also one of the 27 essential restaurants in the Des Moines metro.

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“While we are sad to have to suddenly halt operations despite the dining room remaining bustling, and even sadder to let anyone in our community down, we are looking forward to focusing our energy and passion on Harbinger and Basic Bird for now,” the message said on Instagram and Facebook.

Stay tuned whether this is a permanent closing or remains temporary.

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook , Twitter , or Instagram , or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A Windsor Heights restaurant specializing in breakfast temporarily closes