Susan Stapleton

Susan Stapleton is a journalist at The Des Moines Register who covers food and closely related consumer culture. Her work stands out for its practical focus: she gives readers clear, usable information about what to eat, where to go, and how to support local businesses, often inviting them to take part in the stories themselves through votes, lists, and guided itineraries.

Service-focused food and consumer coverage

Stapleton’s food coverage leans heavily into service journalism, built around specific questions that everyday readers have about what to buy and how to celebrate. In pieces such as her report on readers nationwide voting on top hot dog brands for July 4, she uses polls and rankings to turn a common holiday food into a participatory, comparison-driven story that helps people navigate crowded supermarket shelves. Her article “5 things I didn’t know you can do for free in …” is used internally as an example of high-engagement service work, showing how she structures information in short, direct lists that make trying new experiences feel low-risk and straightforward. Across these pieces, she writes in plain language, keeps the focus on concrete takeaways, and treats food and outings as everyday decisions rather than niche interests.

Restaurant openings and the business of dining

A core part of Stapleton’s beat is tracking how new restaurants and markets reshape familiar spaces and local dining habits. Her coverage of plans for a Mexican restaurant and bar in the former Spaghetti Works building, tied to the El Valle Tienda Mexicana market, follows a business owner as they move from grab-and-go meals to a full restaurant concept in a landmark downtown spot. Stories like this blend development news with food detail: she reports on the type of cuisine, the evolution of the business model, and what the change means for people who knew the previous tenant. Her recognition on the “2025 40 Women to Watch” list from the Iowa Restaurant Association underscores how closely she is identified with the restaurant community and its operators. For communications teams in food and hospitality, this emphasis on openings, transformations, and the people behind them is central to how she approaches the beat.

Guides and itineraries for local experiences

Stapleton also writes guides that show readers how to string individual businesses and attractions into full outings. Her piece on Iowa’s Indie Bookshop Tour presents a structured way to “crisscross” the state and support local stores, turning scattered shops into a coherent route and explaining why the tour model is compelling enough that other states are launching their own versions. In this kind of coverage, she does more than spotlight a single venue: she maps out how to move between stops, what readers can expect along the way, and how taking part supports independent owners. Combined with her “5 things … for free” format, these stories position her as a guide to accessible experiences, whether the hook is books, food, or a mix of both. The through-line is helping readers see local businesses as part of a larger circuit they can realistically travel.

Profiles and series on local trailblazers

Beyond straightforward guides and openings, Stapleton contributes to feature-style series that highlight individual figures shaping the local food and culture landscape. On social platforms, she promotes work under banners such as “Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Dana …,” signaling an interest in people whose ideas or businesses set a direction others follow. These pieces sit at the point where personality, entrepreneurship, and community impact meet, giving more narrative space to how a chef, retailer, or organizer got started and what they are changing. Her inclusion in restaurant-industry recognition lists and internal metrics that note strong page views for her service work together suggest that these profiles have both community resonance and audience reach. For sources, this means she is attuned to stories where individual decisions and risks translate into visible shifts in how and where people eat.

Across formats—reader polls, list-based service pieces, opening coverage, itineraries, and profiles—Stapleton maintains a clear, utilitarian style. She writes about food not as lifestyle aspiration but as part of everyday routines, anchoring broader trends in specific brands, businesses, and people that readers can recognize and visit. Her beat centers on food yet consistently touches adjacent areas such as independent retail and local tourism, making her a natural fit for stories that sit at the intersection of dining, small business, and lived experience.