March 13, 2025

Opening day for the relocated Ode to Food and Drinks was warm enough that the restaurant set out its patio furniture.

“It’s just a perfect day for our first day,” owner Theresa Flannery Kramer said Wednesday. “The weather is fantastic, and we weren’t really ready to have people on the patio, but we did pull our furniture. We unchained it last night and set it out.”

Ode’s new home is in the former Falls Landing Bar & Grill space in the Country Inn & Suites at 200 E. Eighth St. The restaurant’s patio overlooks the Big Sioux River, just as it did in its decade-long home in the original building at nearby Cherapa Place.

Ode moved over its equipment and furnishings after closing at Cherapa on Feb. 22, and employees quickly helped transform the space with a black and white color scheme.

Longtime customers will find familiar touches like the metal deer head statue on the wall and house musician Dan Larson.

“We already see some areas that we can improve and make it a little more like us, add some softness and prettiness to it,” Kramer said.

Inside, the restaurant seats 80 diners at tables, booths and the bar, and the patio can hold more than 100.

The menu is slightly smaller than before but still features nine appetizers, nine sidekicks, a soup of the day, four salads and eight entrees.

For lunch, there are nine sandwiches, all of which can be served as a lettuce wrap, along with chicken strip and chislic baskets, the four salads and combos of a half-sandwich and sidekick, or a cup of soup and a house salad or Caesar salad.

Kramer is happy to reopen in time for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, which have been a tradition at Ode and have started already with Guinness Irish Stew, corned beef and cabbage, and other featured dishes.

The new location is sparking the return of Ode’s plated weekend brunch, which ended during the pandemic. Also returning for brunch is Ode’s signature bloody mary bar with three housemade mixes and more than 40 ingredients for garnishing. Ode, however, is in the process of transferring its liquor license to the new location, so it will serve only beer and wine until the end of the month.

One tap station at the bar will be dedicated to craft beers from Altered Species Ales, said Kramer’s husband, Bobby. The local brewery has been ramping up production since releasing its first beers in December, so Ode eventually will have five offerings. The other tap station mostly will feature local brews too, he said.

“Especially being in a hotel with travelers, they come in and it’s like, ‘What do you have for local beer?'”