Dominic Iannerelli's Prime & Providence puts final touches on West Des Moines steakhouse

Construction workers at Prime & Providence, the new steakhouse from chef and co-owner Dominic Iannarelli opening in West Des Moines, already installed the buttery leather booths, the modern light fixtures overhead, and the rentable lockers that will store bottles of whiskey and wine at the front.

But perhaps most exciting for Iannarelli? The hearth from Grills by Demant. Owner Chris Demant came from Atlanta to personally oversee the installation of the equipment in the kitchen at the restaurant opening in May.

“Everything’s custom,” Demant said. “But at the same time, my grills are modular, so they’re scalable so you can get them small or you can get them 20 feet long.”

Chefs and restaurateurs can request the grill to reach the hood, put the grill on rollers to move them around, and determine what plug-and-play components to include, like a rotisserie, an elevator tower to rotate food over the heat, or more grill grates.

Iannerelli’s hearth includes a 12-foot grill with skewers, smoke boxes and a speed rack system for different grates.

“I'd been a huge fan of his work,” said Iannerelli, who saw Demant’s grills in person at chef and restaurateur Sean Brock’s Southern restaurant June in Nashville.

You may have seen Grills by Demant at these restaurants

Readers may have seen Demant’s work on “The Menu,” the 2022 thriller from “Succession” director Mark Mylod and starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes. Production designer Ethan Tobman told Architectural Digest that he worked with Dominque Crenn, the chef behind San Francisco’s three Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, to create the kitchen for the fictional restaurant Hawthorn on a sound stage in Hampton Island, Georgia. A grill by Demant was part of the set in the working kitchen.

Demant also installed his grill at Ilis, a Brooklyn restaurant from Mads Refslund, formerly of Noma, as well as at Kevin Fink’s Hestia in Austin, Texas, and Southall Farm & Inn in Franklin, Tennessee.

Iannerelli said he talked to Demant about what he wanted on the grill for about 30 minutes. “He knew exactly what we were doing,” he said.

The grill includes two big charcoal ovens as well.

Prime & Providence also marks the first time Demant built an oyster case, which will sit to the right of the grill and have its own bar seating.

Demant, who is originally from Denmark, started building grills six or seven years ago. “It’s so cool that you get to do something artistic with the metal that is highly functional,” he said. “It’s a functional piece that we can make beautiful. … you see the fire and the smoke and all the meats hanging and everything’s dribbling and it’s just like a big spectacle to look at.”

Now Iannerelli needs to pass a fire inspection before he can fire up the hearth and start working on dishes.

More: Meet the new restaurant opening in West Des Moines that promises a modernized steakhouse

Who is Dominic Iannerelli?

Chef Dominic Iannerelli, who most recently served as executive chef and director of restaurants for Splash Seafood and Jethro’s BBQ and worked with the company for 23 years, left to open his own restaurant this spring. Prime & Providence promises to bring a modern twist to the steak and seafood genre when it opens at 595 S. 60th St. in West Des Moines.

The restaurant, built from scratch from the ground up, is part of 595 Tower, a new five-story building, whose master developer is DRA Properties. Retail and the restaurant take up the lower level, with commercial real estate broker CBRE moving into the second floor and 10 owner-occupied condos filling floors three through five.

Where to find Prime & Providence

Location: 595 S. 60th St. in West Des Moines

Contact: On Instragram at instagram.com/primeandprovidence or on Facebook at facebook.com/primeandprovidence

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 [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dominic Iannerelli's Prime & Providence steakhouse prepares to open