The partner in a planned comeback of one of Des Moines’ best-known French restaurants has pulled out of the project and cut ties with its chef who is facing criminal charges.
Chef David Baruthio said he has ended his collaboration with chef Enosh Kelley and will no longer reopen Bistro Montage with him at 2701 Ingersoll Ave. The two had announced in October that they would revive Bistro Montage with a new restaurant using the old name in 2026.
“Following recent developments involving Chef Enosh Kelley, Chef David Baruthio has permanently discontinued the Bistro Montage project,” according to a statement Baruthio shared with the Des Moines Register. “The restaurant will transition to a new French concept, with details and a new name to be announced soon.”
He added that the restaurant will remain in the same location.
Kelley was arrested in Des Moines on Oct. 3 and is charged with domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury and three counts of contempt for violating a no-contact order.
Kelley has been in and out of jail since the initial charges, most recently paying a $40,000 cash bond tied to the two November contempt counts. He is scheduled to appear in Polk County District Court on Nov. 19.
His lawyer has declined to comment.
In October, Bistro Montage announced it was “making a comeback” with Baruthio and Kelley behind the menu after the two longtime French chefs signed a deal for the Star Lofts space on Ingersoll Avenue on Oct. 23. Baruthio said at the time the restaurant would be “the first carbon-free emission restaurant built in Iowa.”
Baruthio described the project as “a very classic French restaurant, a creative collaboration between me and Enosh,” with a wine list that would lean into French wine. Construction was underway with a target opening in late spring or early summer 2026, and the duo planned to host pop-up dinners to be announced at a later date.
Kelley, 55, opened the original Bistro Montage on Ingersoll Avenue in 2003, in the space where Harbinger is now located. The restaurant became one of Des Moines’ most acclaimed French dining rooms but closed on Dec. 31, 2016. Kelley, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, was a James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for Best Chef Midwest in 2009.
Baruthio was the chef behind Baru 66, a critically acclaimed French restaurant that opened in Windsor Heights in 2009 and closed in 2019. Born in Colmar, France, he trained in Strasbourg and was named a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2011 and Best Chef Midwest in 2013.
He now operates Café Madeleine in downtown Des Moines.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
Dining and Cooking