About Us
Jethro's BBQ is the brainchild of Des Moines entrepreneur, Bruce Gerleman. A real estate developer of historical buildings and restaurateur, Gerleman has opened such iconic restaurants such as The Metz, The Kaplan Hat Company, Juke Box Saturday Night, and in 1988, the award winning fine dining restaurant Splash Seafood Bar and Grill in downtown Des Moines. When visiting Texas and touring the famous BBQ spots around Austin, he came back home and opened the first Jethro's BBQ near Drake University in 2008, where the original recipes were all made from scratch! His vision was a one of a kind fine dining, rock n' roll sports bar serving generous portions of amazing slow smoked meats.
Jethro's soon gained national attention when it was featured on "Man vs Food". It was named the "Manliest Restaurant in the Midwest" by Men's Health Magazine and the Discovery Channel. Jethro's was featured on ESPN with its award winning Adam Emmenecker sandwich. Our fame spread far and wide when the Jethro sandwich was named the "#1 Bacon Sandwich in the Nation" by The United States of Bacon show on the Food Network. Jethro's slow smoked wings have been voted best in Des Moines for 15 years in a row. Recently, Jethro's wings were named the best wings in Iowa by Inside Edition.
Jethro's now has 8 locations in the great state of Iowa. Whether it be the best happy hour in town with over 20 beers on tap, watching sports on the big screen TVs, eating out with your team after the game, or just a fun night with family and friends, Jethro's promises to serve you mouth-watering BBQ and delicious food made from scratch. We also cater events large and small; Jethro's even catered a backyard BBQ for President Obama! Our professional staff pride themselves on great service. Everyone has a fun time at Jethro's! Come and visit us and experience our World Famous BBQ.