New DSRT CLUB restaurant in Old Town La Quinta pays homage to the old-school Desert Club

Chris and Anita Chmielak have lived in La Quinta for several years, but the city’s history didn’t reveal itself to them until they recently checked out a casita — one of the area’s few dozen remaining adobe structures built in the 1930s — at an open house near their home in the Cove neighborhood.

After their visit, the couple “really took to the whole story behind the original casitas,” Chris recalled in an interview. The casitas are part of La Quinta’s history, which dates over a half century before its incorporation in 1982.

Then they began to learn about another part of the city’s early history: The Desert Club.

Opened in 1937, the Desert Club quickly became a go-to spot for celebrities who visited the nearby La Quinta Hotel, which had opened about a decade earlier.

Hollywood stars such as Kirk Douglas and Greta Garbo were drawn to the club, which had a pool, a clubhouse and a dining room, and Gen. George S. Patton visited the club often in 1942 when the Third U.S. Army was training nearby.

The Chmielaks, who own RD RNNR in Old Town La Quinta, had already decided in April to move their existing restaurant into a larger area upstairs that had long been vacant. But that left the question of what to do with the space downstairs.

“My wife and I looked at each other and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be super cool if our restaurant basically pays tribute to the original Desert Club?’” Chris said.

The couple decided on a name with a modern twist — DSRT CLUB — and after several months of renovating the space and refining their menu, the new restaurant in Old Town La Quinta is holding a soft opening Wednesday, Sept. 20, with reservations encouraged, according to the co-owners.

The restaurant will bring “a “sporty vintage vibe” to the space, Chris said, with vintage chandeliers and wallpaper, along with old-school polo helmets, golf clubs and wooden tennis racquets. DSRT CLUB will also have black-and-white photos of the original Desert Club’s pool and dining areas, a tribute to a space that no longer exists.

After going strong in its heyday, the Desert Club was gutted by a 1965 fire and fell into disrepair, then it was transferred to the city and allowed to burn in 1989 for firefighting practice. Its previous location is where Fritz Burns Park now stands.

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Compared to RD RNNR, which has done well despite opening just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris described DSRT CLUB as “a little more elevated” with a chef-driven menu, “maybe two clicks up” from the sister restaurant’s offerings.

The co-owner noted a “land & sea” dish that features split lobster tail and veal tenderloin that he expects to be popular. The menu also includes a crispy skin branzino and a “Jamba” creole stew.

“There’s a lot of classics on there but some new dishes,” Chris said. “We’re doing a grilled octopus for an appetizer. That’s pretty adventurous for the La Quinta, Palm Desert area, so we’re excited about that.”

While the menu and space will be a bit swankier, Chris added they want DSRT CLUB to remain open year-round to cater to full-time residents, unlike other high-end restaurants in the Coachella Valley that often close in the summer.

After their first restaurant venture in Old Town, the Chmielaks were excited to add something different to the area’s offerings.

“It all kind of started with walking in that open house,” Chris said. “It really opened our eyes to the history of La Quinta. ... One thing led to another, and we’ll have a restaurant open in (a few) days.”

Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: New DSRT CLUB restaurant in La Quinta pays homage to the Desert Club