March 8, 2019

An ethnic market serving the Bhutanese, Nepalese and other Asian communities in Sioux Falls has expanded and is celebrating its second anniversary Sunday.

Durga Gurung opened Dragon Asian Market at 2300 E. 10th St. in 2017 with his brother, Lali, and nephew, Aita. Earlier this year, they expanded into a vacant space next to the market in the retail center.

Aita Gurung and his uncle, Durga Gurung, are two of the owners of Dragon Asian Market.

With the extra room, they’re selling more grocery items, cookware, bedding, personal care and natural healing products, traditional Nepali clothing, and Buddhist and Hindu religious items.

Dragon Asian Market also will add a small restaurant, likely by early summer, Gurung said. It will serve traditional Nepali foods such as momos, which are dumplings; a fried pastry called pani puri; and chatpate, a puffed rice dish with chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, onion, cilantro and red chile powder. The market has applied for a beer and wine license.

The relatives were born in Bhutan and grew up in Nepal. They started planning to have a family business before they came to the United States. They lived in Idaho for several years, but picked Sioux Falls to start their market.

“The main reason we like it is it’s a smaller city and it’s growing,” Gurung said.

Gurung, who is president of the Buddhist Society of South Dakota, estimated that there are 5,000 people living in Sioux Falls who are from Bhutan or Nepal.

“People from the African, Burmese and Asian communities keep coming too, and they are loyal to us,” he said.

The shelves are filled with ingredients used in recipes from those faraway homelands, and imported snacks, candies and beverages that the immigrants and refugees enjoy. Fresh vegetables arrive every Tuesday, and other products come in two or three times a month, Gurung said.

To celebrate its second anniversary, Dragon Asian Market is offering a 20 percent discount Sunday and giving away $3 scratch-off lottery tickets to customers 18 and older.

The store is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.