Lucy Fitzgerald (legally Lachele Wendel) is the co-owner and namesake of the recently opened diner, Lachele’s Fine Foods, here in Des Moines. However, Fitzgerald is also a writer, popular podcast host and lover of all things strange and unusual.   

The University of Northern Iowa graduate acquired a bachelor’s degree in English on a whim, after learning that there is too much chemistry involved in Mortuary Science for her liking. She ended up loving it, and even taught English in China for a year at Xiangtan University.   

After returning from China, Fitzgerald worked her way up the ladder at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines. She started freelancing and eventually gained a full-time position with All Recipes magazine.   

Laid off in 2017, Fitzgerald did not let this get her down. After a few weeks of job hunting, the podcast she started with her two best friends the same year, began to take off.   

“I just kind of made a conscious decision to lean in and make it work,” Fitzgerald said, and there is no doubt she followed through.   

Wine and Crime, the podcast where “three friends chug wine, chat true crime, and unleash their worst Minnesota accents,” was born in February 2017. Her interests in oddities and traditionally “gross” things get to run free on this show. Co-hosting with childhood best friends Kenyon Laing and Amanda Jacobson, Fitzgerald thought this would take up only a couple hours of her week.   

The idea came from the normal habit of the three friends getting together to drink wine and laugh about the bad reenactments on Forensic Files.   

The show took off in a matter of months, and people everywhere are tuning in to listen to the three friends’ take on each topic. Fitzgerald, getting to use her knowledge in writing and fascination for morbidity, does the background and psychology segment for each episode. Laing and Jacobsen follow up with two related cases, and of course the show is perfectly paired with a glass of wine.   

Fitzgerald understands that a true crime/comedy podcast is a bit of a weird intersection. However, for the women who listen to the show, it is a form of self-care. With over 85% of the audience being female, Fitzgerald and her co-hosts work tirelessly to make Wine and Crime a show that makes women feel less like the damsel in distress.   

“If we can see the monster and understand it, sort of overload ourselves with that violent imagery, then somehow it makes us feel a little bit better,” Fitzgerald said.   

They are also conscious about who they put on the show, trying to shine a light on more than just “cis-het(erosexual) white female victims.” The women intentionally have goals to cover cases people have not heard of, including people of color, women and trans people.   

Fitzgerald also makes clear that these tragedies are no laughing matter.  

“We’re not laughing at victims, we’re laughing at the absurdity of the perpetrators,” Fitzgerald said.  

The goal is to try to bring a little bit of lightness to a horrible topic.   

On top of the podcast, being a restaurant owner was not ever in Fitzgerald’s plans. Her husband, Cory Wendel, brought up the idea to her at the beginning of the pandemic. The veteran chef found the perfect location on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines and could not pass up the opportunity. It took a lot of convincing to get Fitzgerald on board with the idea.   

“I’ll name it after you,” Wendel said. 

Lachele’s Fine Foods opened their doors February 2021 and they have not slowed down for one second. Unsure of how opening weekend would go, Fitzgerald was overwhelmed with the amount of support from the community.   

“The whole city came out—people loved it!” Fitzgerald said.   

The small diner brings a unique and colorful atmosphere to the area, one Fitzgerald takes pride in helping create. The “Charisma” pink walls perfectly compliment the teal barstools and checkerboard floors. The walls are donned with pictures taken by David Poe, Fitzgerald’s uncle, taken in the mid-1970’s, giving the place a ton of character and sentimental value.  

The interior is striking, but the food and the staff is what makes the place stand out. The kitchen has an open-bar style where customers can sit and watch their food be made. The menu features a handful of burgers, hot dogs and a few sandwiches, but there is a different lunch special every day.   

“Every day it’s just more outrageous than the day before!” Fitzgerald said.   

The tattooed staff also adds to the funky aesthetic of the diner.  

“They’re just very unique and good at what they do,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s dinner and a show, really.”   

The restaurant is mostly in the hands of her husband, but she is their biggest supporter.  

“Not holding me back from things that I want to do is something that she’s done for me in an incredible way,” Wendel said. “Through all the years that I’ve grown up, learned things, become what I consider a better person was a lot because she pushed me in that direction.”   

Plans for a second LFF location is in the works, with dreams of a catering kitchen and more storage than their small business can currently offer. But for now, they are all having fun with what they have.   

“The food is exciting, but it’s also a place you can just go and hangout and feel totally comfortable,” Fitzgerald said.   

The best thing on the menu, according to Fitzgerald, is of course the Lachele Burger. More specifically, a single Lachele Burger with a side of tater tots, with cheese sauce and a side of LFF sauce for dipping.   

Whatever adventure is next for Fitzgerald, it is sure to pack a punch. Be sure to follow 

@lachelesfinefoods on Instagram to keep up with wild food specials and @wineandcrimepod to join the coven and laugh along with the latest murder mysteries to fill the mind, body and soul.