Littleleaf Luncheonette has closed its restaurant in downtown Waukee.
The Des Moines Register identified Mallory Holt and Ryan Nicholson as Littleleaf Luncheonette's owners.
Littleleaf opened in October 2025 at 405 Sixth St., inside the redeveloped former Pin Oak building, as part of Waukee's broader push to revitalize its downtown. The report notes the restaurant served breakfast, lunch, coffee, wine and beer, and later expanded into dinner service featuring small plates and cocktails.
A Dinner Menu Built Like Tapas
The dinner expansion arrived in a report published in January, when the restaurant's new evening dishes were described as being meant to function more like tapas, meant for sharing rather than individual plates. That dinner service ran Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m., according to the same report from the Register.
Holt, an Iowa native, and Nicholson, who moved to Iowa from upstate New York, worked together for six years before opening Littleleaf. That partnership, and the restaurant's run in Waukee, is what made the closure notable for a downtown still finding its footing as a dining destination.
Part of a Broader Downtown Push
Littleleaf's arrival in the former Pin Oak building was tied to Waukee's downtown redevelopment plans, which focus on adding parking, creating more pedestrian-friendly areas and encouraging commercial redevelopment, according to the Business Record. Waukee Economic Development Director Jennifer Brown has said that focusing on and revitalizing downtowns has become a trend in recent years, speaking to the broader context behind projects like the one that brought Littleleaf to Sixth Street in the first place.
What will happen to the space remains to be seen. Holt and Nicholson plan a new restaurant as they move on from the restaurant they built together.
