Bottomless booze now legal in West Des Moines, though some restaurants already served it

Some West Des Moines bars and restaurants had been unknowingly violating the city's ban on unlimited alcoholic drink specials by serving bottomless booze during brunch — and local police didn't know about it either.

But the specials are now legal under city code, as West Des Moines City Council members passed an ordinance Monday that allows for bottomless drinks like mimosas, bloody marys and screwdrivers while regulating the practice. West Des Moines Police Chief Chris Scott said the situation has been a bit of a wakeup call.

"Quite frankly, we didn't know about it," Scott said of local restaurants already offering the specials.

He said a local bar owner notified police around St. Patrick's Day that another local establishment was offering an unlimited drink special and the owner did not realize that was illegal.

Unlimited servings of alcohol for a fixed price was not allowed in West Des Moines until the vote Monday. The West Des Moines City Council unanimously approved an ordinance amendment to allow for such specials from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays and from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

“It wasn’t creating a problem, and that’s probably why we didn’t know about it," Scott said. He said alcohol compliance checks have been primarily about underage sales but the Police Department may need to start looking for other violations.

“The irony is, when we talked to these businesses, they didn’t know," Scott said.

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West Des Moines is now regulating longstanding brunch drink deals

Scott didn't say which businesses already had unlimited drink specials. But a search of social media and online articles immediately showed several.

Gilroy's Kitchen + Pub + Patio advertised on Facebook on Memorial Day bottomless bloody marys, mimosas and screwdrivers until 2 p.m. Gilroy's also advertised bottomless drink specials for a two-day Easter brunch. The general manager could not be reached for comment.

The Register featured Gilroy's as well as Urban Cellar ― Wine Bar, Grille & Market in a Mother's Day brunch list that included details of their bottomless drink specials.

And The Pelican Post Bar & Grille advertised bottomless mimosas on its Facebook page the weekend before the city ordinance passed.

Zach Baldwin is a managing partner with The Dark Side of The Spoon Hospitality Group and owns and operates some of the group's establishments, including Grimaldi's pizzerias. Baldwin told the Register he had not known about West Des Moines' previous ban on unlimited drink specials, and Wellman's Pub and Rooftop in West Des Moines had already been offering bottomless mimosa and bloody mary specials on weekends.

Baldwin said he's not sure they'll expand the special into weekdays, given that the new law allows it.

A spokesperson for Bar Louie — which has a location at Jordan Creek Town Center and appeared on its website to offer brunch drink specials but not unlimited deals — could not immediately provide information on whether there would be any expansions to its menu and specials.

Scott said he's happy with the ordinance change and that it allows businesses to continue doing what they had been. He said he did not want to punish businesses that had already been offering unlimited drink specials but did want to regulate their practices.

And while Scott said he does not expect an increase in issues related to overconsumption, “If we believe that we kind of created a monster and we need to reevaluate this, I think all of council is open to that."

At the City Council meeting in June where the ordinance change was first presented, West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble said, "We want to make sure that we’re not having an abuse of this that is leading to people being drunk and having issues in public. But we want to be able to make sure that we are looking at this and allowing for people to have brunches and bottomless mimosas and those kinds of events as well."

Trimble said the ordinance would not infringe upon private events.

"This is the right way to amend the law to allow for people to continue to have these brunches, and bottomless mimosas and other items, while not letting things get out of hand at the same time," he added.

Council member Renee Hardman said, "We’re trying to be reasonable, but we’re also trying to make sure that it’s kind of limited."

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The legality of unlimited drink specials varies by location in the metro

The Register asked some of West Des Moines' immediate neighbors what their city ordinances allow when it comes to unlimited drink specials.

Waukee does not allow unlimited alcoholic drinks for a fixed price, though there are some exceptions including for private events.

Grimes does not ban unlimited alcoholic drink sales for a fixed price, but while that means by default it's allowed, city spokesperson Whitney Tucker said other codes related to serving alcohol must still be followed, including not serving an intoxicated person.

Urbandale's city code also does not explicitly address unlimited alcohol servings for a fixed price.

Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bottomless booze now legal in West Des Moines, though some restaurants already served it