Tweet

The COVID-19 pandemic took a lot of beauty and life out of people’s everyday routine, with many parents having to put their life on hold to help with their children’s online learning or working from home for months on end. One woman in particular was no exception to the pandemic’s rage. 

Temeshia Bomato is a mother to three young children and was working at a Des Moines care facility. As soon as the pandemic struck the Des Moines metro Bomato was faced with tending to her daughters’ online schooling. 

While life continued to move on and the stress of the pandemic grew on her family, Bomato took control of her life at home, doing research on rare plants to possibly grow her collection. She used the handle “Mama Monstera” to join Facebook groups and private message sellers in hopes to learn more and obtain plants of her own. She finally found a plant collector that was willing to do a trade with her in an Iowa City Target parking lot for three small leaves, and she vowed to herself to keep the variegated Monstera plant alive. 

With her green thumb growing at a rapid pace, she turned her humble Urbandale house into a luscious oasis of plants. She had multiple humidifiers going at once, keeping the perfect humidity level for her full grown plants, propagated leaves and newly sprouted plants. 

Eventually, she got the idea to open up a cocktail and houseplant shop in West Des Moines as a place for plant lovers and drink coinsures to relax, work from home or possibly find a new hobby of plant care. She opened up Pots and Shots in January 2022.

Pots and Shots is located on the side of a newly developed group of businesses right off Southeast University St. in West Des Moines. There are two entrances, one leading directly to the bar and the other entrance welcoming the customers to the houseplant shop. The owners are looking into building a pergola outside of the bar entrance to welcome customers with comfort and relaxation.

I entered through the bar entrance and was directly welcomed with laughing customers of all ages and group sizes playing board games such as Sorry, Jenga, Battleship and more. The fresh air and aromatic smells of the fresh fruits and garnishes instantly filled my nose and I felt like I was in paradise. 

“It hits all of your five senses perfectly. The aroma hits you right when you walk in; so fresh,” Kim Wagemester said, Cedar Rapids native who was visiting Pots and Shots for the first time. 

As I sat down, I took a deep breath of relaxation with sights of green all around me. There were hundreds of propagated leaves including Monstera clippings larger than my head down to the smallest String of Pearls I have ever seen, filling every inch of the window sill. Hanging from the ceilings were complex black iron lights that set the mood of the entire bar, making it just dark enough to feel warm and cozy but bright enough to see every intricate detail of the surrounding plants. Along with the lights were wooden dark brown ladders that were wrapped with viny Pothos all over the ceiling, leaving no square inch of the area plant-less. One of the walls had a mural of Monstera leaves painted in different hues of green.

“Even though there were hundreds of plants between the bar area and the houseplant store, they almost made the space seem bigger than what it was. The entire area felt open and inviting,” Miranda Greathouse, a graduating senior at Grand View University said.

I chose to sit close to the full sized bar that was once a cigar lounge. The old character from the lounge was prevalent within the design with the dark wood features and glass casing. There was also a TV mounted to the wall playing YouTube plant videos all throughout the night. I was greeted with thick paper menus the size of a postcard, neatly clipped onto a mini clipboard. On the front of the menu were 10 signature cocktails priced at $12 each. Each cocktail had different variations of alcohol with some including vodka and Triple Sec and others including Bacardi and Captain Morgan. On the next page, four different specialty shots were listed at $8 each and ranged in different flavors with one using coconut water as one of its additives. The rest of the menu included the typical bar drinks of tap beer, wine, bottled beers and canned options. There was also a hefty list of “Old Favorites” that included a Margarita, Mimosa, Paloma and other regular mixed drinks. The rest of the menu included Happy Hour that goes from 2pm-6pm every day except for Saturday, and gives a discount on select wine glasses, well drinks, bottled beers and non-specialty shots.

I began the night by ordering the Single Village: WDSM. It included Vida Single Village Mezcal, Dolin Blanc, Luxardo Maraschino, pineapple, mango, lemon, cilantro and chili. The drink came out in a pale orange glass with a salt and spice mixture filled rim with a microgreen placed neatly on top. Upon my first sip, my tastebuds were filled with the tropical mixture of the fruit and it soon cut to the smokeyness of the tequila that quickly mellowed out, leaving me to want another sip.

“The bar manager and I actually created The Single Village: WDSM. It was actually called Waukee Water before we added the pineapple flavor,” the bartender said, searving our drinks. “I love how creative I can be when making drinks. I feel as though I have the freedom to make different drinks or make whatever the customer wants.”

Greathouse ordered the Farmer’s Market which included Pimm’s, Absolut Citron, Champagne, lemon, Agave and fruit. This is the most ordered drink on the menu. It was extremely bubbly and light, making me think of going to brunch on Sundays with my girlfriends. This drink was garnished to the nines with different variations of cut up fruit and microgreens.

One thing that caught my attention while watching the bartender create my drink is that they use fresh microgreens to garnish the drink. The microgreens are locally sourced and bought in bulk almost every day. It was the touch of care and love that shows the customer that they are also paying for the experience and quality. 

After getting a little bit of liquid courage, I made my way over to the home plant shop which closed at 6pm, earlier than the bar. From the outside I could see the wide array of plants for purchase, but there were also pots, plant hangers, merchandise and plant care items. 

“I would say that there is a healthy mixture of both people wanting to buy plants but also people only wanting to get a drink. I wouldn’t say there is more than the other,” the bartender said.

With Pots and Shots being the first of its kind in West Des Moines, it is a destination that I would recommend to anyone, even those that are not interested in plants. It is a one of a kind experience that leaves the customer with a lasting impression. Even though it is about 12 miles away from GV, I have added it to my list of favorite places in Des Moines. 

“(I’ve) never been to a bar so refreshing or rejuvenating before. Bartenders were so friendly and the drinks were so cleverly designed as well as delicious! I could sit there for hours,” Wagemester said.