A classic Iowa early autumn day was underway when we met at the Wakonda Club for our regular Rotary meeting. President Shawn Mullen welcomed us and called on Doug Lewis, who offered well-chosen words of inspiration, with special emphasis on our recognition and appreciation to ‘first responders’ who are constantly on call to protect us in times of emergency and danger, or has been written, those who run to the site of the emergency and not away from it. After Doug had further led us in the pledge to the flag and the Four-Way Test, Dan Haymes was recognized to introduce our visiting Rotarian and guests. We had only one visiting Rotarian, but an important one, District Gov. Elect Erna Morain, a member of the Waukee Club. We welcomed not only Erna, but also the other guests who were with us today. Jim Slife was both celebrating a birthday and in attendance today so President Shawn led us marking the moment in song. We were reminded of the two fellowship meetings coming up: Randy Worth’s Wheels group, meeting on Sept. 22, and Rob Smith’s golf outing on Sept. 24.
Our shy, reticent, constantly-seeking-to-avoid-attention, fellow member Greg Edwards (well, maybe just sort of that way) was then asked to introduce our speaker for the day, Paul Rottenberg, the founder of Orchestrate Management, who then became a part of a discussion with Greg about the Des Moines restaurant scene. Paul is a native of Buffalo, NY, and began his career at age fourteen washing dishes in a restaurant. He later went to the University of Colorado where he continued to work in the food industry while there. Following college, he entered that business and moved to Tuscon with his own operation but as things turned out, he later was wanting to make a move and since his wife is from Atlantic, IA, he had an incentive to move to this state. This was in the mid-1970’s. Talking to Mike LaValle, also a restauranteur here, he found an opportunity and eventually joined the leadership team at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, which he managed for many years. (Incidentally, Paul noted that in 1919, RCDM was the first group to meet at the ‘new’ Hotel Ft. DM, which was its home until about 2009 when we moved to the Wakonda Club.) As to how fine dining has related to the hotel industry, Paul said that over many decades in earlier times, a great percentage of the excellent restaurants were in hotels. That has changed in more recent times, with more free-standing restaurants, including many smaller ones, evolving over the years. Orchestrate Management has grown from a beginning when Paul and Jeff Hunter, then owner of the Hotel Ft. Des Moines, created Django, to its present holdings of fourteen food and entertainment facilities throughout Des Moines and central Iowa, including Centro, Gateway Market, Zombie Burger, and eleven more equally popular enterprises.
Greg noted that Paul “has put Des Moines on the map” with the uniqueness he has built into the various restaurants with which he has been connected. Not only was today’s program an excellent discussion of the current restaurant situation and dining habits of today’s public, it was also an interesting trip back through many of the business trends of the last forty years in Des Moines. Paul Rottenberg is an excellent example of how our economic system can reward those who learn well, work hard and emphasize service, allowing them to have great success in their chosen fields. His efforts have certainly been beneficial to the Des Moines community and we especially appreciate his speaking to us today.