Amid construction, Kaladi’s gets creative

June 15, 2018

Even coffee lovers will dodge orange barrels for only so long.

That’s what Kaladi’s Coffee Legend & Bistro is finding out following its first month in the path of a major Minnesota Avenue road project.

The work won’t be done until September, so it’s forcing co-owner Mark Gillespie to think differently.

“You can’t stare out the window and wish it away,” he said. “You’ve just got to grind through it and get creative.”

He has taken to social media, with Facebook videos showing how to easily drive detour routes to get to Kaladi’s at 26th Street and Minnesota. If you’re driving north on Minnesota, turn onto 30th Street and then take Dakota Avenue and use the restaurant’s entrance off that road. If you’re coming from the south, take 22nd Street to Dakota and do the same thing.

“We’re trying to embrace it and show how easy it is to get here,” Gillespie said. “We’re getting a lot of love and support from our regulars, but it’s not quite enough to sustain the percentage we would usually have daily.”

Kaladi’s is offering bottomless mimosas throughout the project and features including fried cheesecake.

“We’ve been selling a ton of them to the people who have been coming,” Gillespie said.

Other new features include a popper burger using jalapeno poppers.

Kaladi’s also is teamed up with Food Dudes to encourage delivery service.

“We’re trying to push that we can come to you through Food Dudes, and we’ve always done catering, so we’re trying to do all the catering events we can, whether it’s in-house or we can cater off-site,” Gillespie said.

Sadly, patio season is out this year. The construction comes nearly right up to it.

“That’s kind of a killer,” he said. “We feel like we’re really missing out.”

The restaurant has been feeding breakfast to construction workers, and “they’re trying to support us too. They’ll come in and eat,” Gillespie said. “The reality is we need the street worked on. I’m a resident in Sioux Falls, and I understand, but it’s tough.”

Hours have been adjusted slightly to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday through Monday.

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Amid construction, Kaladi’s gets creative

From special deals to delivery, here’s how Kaladi’s is coping with construction.

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