Bauder’s on Ingersoll Ave. to be remodeled
City records show building for credit union
Iconic Des Moines ice cream shop Bauder’s has been a fixture on Ingersoll Avenue since it relocated there in 1923. The store has changed ownership at least three times, faced scrutiny for the diversion of thousands of narcotic pain pills and underwent a somewhat forced rebranding from pharmacy to confectionary.
And later this year, it could become a bank.
A site plan submitted to the city titled “Financial Plus Credit Union” shows a remodel of Bauder’s existing 3,932-square-foot, single-story building. There also would be a surface parking lot to the west, staff parking to the south and a drive-thru teller.
The Des Moines-based credit union currently has a location across the street at 609 38th St., tucked behind the Whylie Eye Care Center. Financial Plus’ Chief Operations Officer Susan Kiesner could not be reached for comment.
Bauder’s has been part of the city since 1916, when then-owner Caroline Bauder, believed to have been Des Moines’ only female pharmacist, opened a store at 17th and Crocker streets in Sherman Hill as a “handy counter for women.” She later moved to Ingersoll and began advertising the pharmacy’s ice cream in the Register in the late 1930s. The Bauder family was bought out of the business by Charles Graziano in 1961.
The store at 3800-3802 Ingersoll Ave. was built in 1915, Polk County Assessor records show. It was listed for sale in April 2023 with an asking price of $1.6 million.
Phone calls to Bauder’s on Monday went unanswered. The county recorder’s office had no documentation of the building’s sale.
What’s happening to Bauder’s Ice Cream?
Kimberly Robertson, the current owner of Bauder’s, previously declined to say whether the shop would reopen after it closed in December.
Robertson took over the pharmacy
in 2016, the year after owner and pharmacist Mark Graziano, her brother, went to federal prison following his conviction for distributing pills and evading $577,000 in taxes. She has since kept the business running, renaming it Bauder’s Ice Cream.
There’s still hope for those craving their famed peppermint bars. Signs point to Robertson continuing to cater to Iowa State fairgoers — which it has done annually for about two decades — even after Bauder’s on Ingersoll Avenue closes.
The Des Moines Plan and Zoning
Commission approved plans Feb. 15 for a new structure at the site of Bauder’s old warehouse across the street from the main entrance to the fairgrounds, with a familiar-sounding use. The building burned down last November.
“We can only keep about 250 pounds of ice cream at the fair. We go across the street two to three times a day,” Graziano, representing the business, told the commission. “With traffic, there’s no way to get ice cream to the fair from the store.”