Vietnamese, Thai restaurant to fill renovated county garage building in Newton

There’s something cooking in downtown Newton.

Within the next few months, the real estate development group that purchased the 100-year-old county garage building less than two years ago will unveil a new, local restaurant whose menu specializes in a specific style of Asian cuisine.

Ever since Bryan Friedman and Natalie Umsted, the co-owners of Goldfinch Growth, first pitched their idea to purchase the defunct building from the county, they knew they wanted to fill the downtown real estate, located at 115 W. Second St. S., with a local restaurant or bar to fit in with surrounding businesses.

After trying Theresa Hoang’s food for himself, Friedman can attest to its deliciousness.

“I’m hungry for more!” he said. “I think the community will enjoy the fresh tastes and nice mix of spices and flavors. We’re real fortunate to have Theresa Hoang. She brings enthusiasm, experience and tenacity into operating the restaurant, and I think those are some key ingredients.”

Hoang, the restaurant’s operator, has quite fittingly named her upcoming eatery Viet-Thai Taste. She says the menu and its uniquely fresh flavor profiles may, at first, feel different to locals’ palates, even if they’ve already tried Thai and Vietnamese dishes.

“There are a lot of Vietnamese and Thai restaurants in Des Moines, but my dishes are going to be a little bit different,” Hoang said. “Everything is from myself, more homestyle cooking.”

Before a single bowl of steaming hot pho is served, Hoang must first prepare herself for the tentative July opening date. Right now, the building is still under construction. Plus, it’s a “scary” feeling trying to open a new restaurant during a worldwide pandemic, she says.

Nevertheless, Hoang is excited to see what becomes of the rehabilitation.

As of Wednesday, crews are parked outside the building to cut the brick from the windows. Renovations of the building will turn the space into an “upscale-casual dining experience” while still maintaining its historical significance in the downtown district, Friedman said.

“We are renovating it in a way that respects and enhances the historical aspects of it,” he said. “So it’s a process of keeping of that industrial feel but putting in the systems that make it a clean, comfortable, modern place.”

Goldfinch Growth officially acquired the rights to the building in May 2019 for $40,000. The building’s original purpose had long since been abandoned by the county by the time the development group proposed to transform the structure into a restaurant or bar.

Since then the real estate development group has applied for and received numerous grants to renovate the space. Now that the project is nearing the finish line, Friedman said it is exciting to be in this phase of construction.

“We’ve been very deliberate and step-by-step through the process so that we know we’ll get it right and have all the various funding streams lined up appropriately,” Friedman said. “We’re very excited to be in this phase now and excited to have it open this summer.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com