A New Cumming Is Coming Soon

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Already a cycling destination along the Great Western Trail, the tiny town of Cumming will soon offer more options for hungry and thirsty bikers.

Main Drag Extension

A ride on the Great Western Trail often means a stop in Cumming, whether it’s at the Cumming Tap, Iowa Distilling Company or the Middlebrook Mercantile. While those are popular places to get a drink, finding a spot to eat in Cumming is more difficult. That’s about to change.

“Food is very limited in Cumming. We joke that there’s plenty of places to grab a drink,” said Tim Portzen, vice president of Diligent Development. “A big part of what we’ve tried to do is attract some sort of food.”

Portzen’s company is behind the massive Middlebrook Farm development, which is adding new businesses and homes to Cumming. The Middlebrook Town Center – a southward extension of Cumming’s main drag – is part of the project. That’s where a two-story building is currently under construction, and Portzen said it will be home to several bike-friendly businesses.

“I’m not at a place where I can tell you tenants,” Portzen said. “I can tell you generally what prospects we’ve been talking to and what type of businesses we’ve been talking to.”

He said Diligent has received interest from the following:

• Coffee shop

• Ice cream shop

• Taproom for existing local brewery

• Barbeque restaurant

• Sandwich shop

Portzen said he expects the building to be finished in July, with some of those businesses ready to open around the same time. He said the building will fill a need for cyclists passing through town.

“The barbeque (restaurant) is a pretty good fit because it’s fast casual. You can grab it and you can make a meal of it, hang out, sit down, but you can also grab it on the go,” Portzen said.

Work is about to begin across the street on a second two-story building where there will also be room on the ground floor for restaurants and retail.

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Coffee Coming Soon

Just down from the Middlebrook Town Center, a new coffee shop will soon pop up at county road G-14 and N. 43^rd St.

“It’ll be a pretty tall and big building,” said Haley Gremler. “It’s going to be something they won’t really be able to miss.”

Gremler, a recent college graduate, is working with her dad, Mark Gremler, to open Rooster’s Coffee.

“We wanted to have something that offered some fresh alternatives and something that’s near the bike trail,” Mark Gremler said.

Rooster’s Coffee will be in the shape of a barn, with indoor and outdoor seating, a grassy area for yard games, and a widened path out front for cyclists along G-14.

“We’d love to involve the biking community because we realize a lot of the business that is in that downtown Cumming area kind of comes from outside of Cumming, and the bikers are a big part of that,” Mark Gremler said.

He expects construction to start within the next month, and to be up and running by late summer or early fall.

Cyclist Collaboration

Back at Middlebrook Town Center, Portzen said he’s also looking for ways to reach cyclists. He sees an opportunity on the south end of Cumming, just west of the Great Western Trail – a place they’ve dubbed “Middlebrook Meadow.”

“We’ve got this 50-acre playground, like an outdoor playground, and I don’t really know what to do with it,” Portzen said.

The meadow’s mowed trails are accessible from the trail, but are not suitable for road bikes. But Portzen said it could be a haven for mountain bikers.

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“We’ve got this resource and if we had the passion and collaboration, and if someone from the biking community is like, ‘Let’s turn this into a mountain biking area, we’d be all for that,’” Portzen said.

Diligent Development has already added trails along county road G-14 from 15^th Ave. on the west to N. 35^th St. on the east. But Portzen said he wants to hear ideas to make Middlebrook Farm even more bike-friendly. He said Diligent is a small team working on a huge project with the leaders of a tiny town. They could use bikers’ expertise.

“We’d love to hear more from the biking community on what you want to see. What can we do?” Portzen said. “If we can figure out a way to integrate more art, of if it’s like, ‘Hey, the Great Western Trail is really missing a public restroom,’ those are all things we’d like to solve.”

One More Thing!

I wanted to mention that construction should be starting any day now on the first phase of Des Moines’ Central Levee Trail.

I told you earlier this year how this trail will follow the west bank of the Des Moines River north from downtown into the River Bend neighborhood.

Colby Fangman, deputy senior park planner for the City of Des Moines, told me construction crews will start by removing paving from the former West River Drive near the Riverwalk Dog Park. They’ll actually hold on to the pavement, grind it up, and use it for the trail.

I went down to check it out Wednesday on the way home from work, and it did not appear that any construction had begun. I did take a selfie though.

Once work is underway, Fangman asks that cyclists stay away and give crews room to do their thing.

See you next week!