Rooted in flavor
Our menu brings Mediterranean favorites, Moroccan influence and a build-it-your-way spirit together in one neighborhood kitchen.
Our story
We didn't just open a restaurant.
We built a life around it.
Fresh Mediterranean Express is the family business of Hassan Atarmal and Jeni Betts—two people who believed Waukee had room for food that was fast, colorful and genuinely cared for.
Since 2014, we've served the meals that fill ordinary days and big ones: lunch between meetings, dinner on the way home, a first taste of falafel, a familiar gyro, a company-wide celebration and food for neighbors when it matters most.
We've changed, grown and learned. What hasn't changed is the reason people come back: Fresh food and the feeling that someone is glad you're here.
Where it began • 2014
It started with
a chalkboard.
Hassan beside our original handwritten menu board, in the year Fresh opened its doors. We were still building the menu and finding the best way to share the food—but the commitment to serve every guest with care was already there.
13 yearsvoted CITYVIEW Best Of
Made for people
Hospitality is not a script. It is remembering a regular, helping a first-timer and caring about the meal after it leaves our counter.
Built to last
A decade in business comes from showing up—through changing seasons, hard days, celebrations and everything in between.
Fresh today
Still local.
Still learning.
Still serving.
Fresh has grown from a restaurant into a trusted catering partner for businesses, families and organizations across the Des Moines metro.
It has also given us a story worth sharing: what it really takes to turn cultural food, family recipes and a big idea into a restaurant that lasts. That next chapter is called Recipe to Restaurant—but Fresh will always be where the lessons began.
“More than anything, we're grateful for the opportunity to serve this community.”
— Jeni & Hassan