Jan. 29, 2019

Here’s a look at recent changes in the business landscape in the Sioux Falls area.

The Allen Edge Real Estate Team, led by Tara Allen, has merged with The Jeff Merrill Team. The new team, which is part of Keller Williams Realty Sioux Falls, will keep the Allen Edge name.

SafeSplash Swim School has opened in a retail center in front of Walmart at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue. The franchise owned by Dan and Christa Sobocinski offers swimming lessons to students age 6 months through adults. Class sizes range from a 1-to-1 to a 4-to-1 student-to-instructor ratio. The space is available to reserve outside of lesson times for birthday parties.

Two Dell Rapids fitness centers are teaming up in a joint location. Matt Beukelman, the owner of Rapid Fitness, bought a former auto parts building in the south part of town and is remodeling it for his 24-hour gym with cardio equipment and free weights, his training programs, and tanning and infrared sauna services. The site also will be the home of group training classes for Revive Fitness, which Brittani Bollock started in 2014. The fitness centers are expected to make the move into their new home in February.

DoorDash has expanded to Sioux Falls with its food-delivery service. Customers place orders through the company’s website or app, and it lists more than 140 restaurants in the Sioux Falls area. Delivery and service fees vary by restaurant.

Tyler Soria has started The Airos Coffee Co. He roasts coffee beans and sells them online in 12-ounce bags of ground or whole coffee. Soria delivers orders in the Sioux Falls area himself within a day’s time.

Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores in The Empire Mall are closing along with all other locations as part of Gymboree Group Inc.’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. Going-out-of-business sales are underway.

Look’s Market plans to turn the former Callaway’s restaurant and event space at Prairie Green Golf Course on East 69th Street into a food market hall. It will move its grocery store and meat market near 69th and Western to the new space. The plan is to open in September or October.

JAM Art & Supplies at Sixth and Phillips is closing Feb. 8. The nonprofit organization has served as a creative reuse supply store and artist advocacy group in Sioux Falls for almost five years.

Rhiannon Israel has started Welcome Sioux Falls. The business serves as a resource for people who move to the city.

Luca’s Boutique will reopen Friday at 311 S. Phillips Ave. Luca Papini opened the store, which specializes in Italian leather handbags, in 2014. His former space in the 8th & Railroad Center will be the new home for Juniper Apothecary. Brittany and Josh Sopko started the bath and body products business in Tea and opened a store last summer in The Empire Mall. It will close Wednesday and reopen in the new space sometime next month.

Vinyl Taco will open Thursday in the former Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse building south of the Western Mall. The restaurant will serve Mexican street tacos. Bartenders will play ’70s classic rock albums on a turntable. Hours will be 11 a.m. to midnight daily. Customers must be 21 or older.

Both Shopko stores in Sioux Falls were on a list of sites the national retailer planned to close as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, but a week later Shopko reversed the decision, opting to keep the store on West 41st Street. The store on East Arrowhead Parkway is expected to close by April 15.

Orthopedic Institute and Core Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, two independent medical providers based in Sioux Falls, have announced a partnership that took effect Jan. 1. The Core name and staff will transition into OI’s practice on the Avera McKennan campus in the coming months. Operations will be integrated and managed by OI.

A new retail space in Brandon serves as a marketplace for local makers. Lisa Hokenstad decided to use part of her LH Design workshop on Cedar Street for the store. It features works from The Spirited Soul SD, Maple Leaf Furniture Co., S&C Design, Bowar Construction and artist Shianne Dutson. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday.

Big Rig BBQ has temporarily closed its restaurant at 41st and Minnesota. New hours will be announced soon, owner Bob Brenner said. He’s still taking catering orders.

MK Threads Boutique has moved into a larger space in the Jones421 building on North Phillips Avenue. Corduroy & Pixie Dust is using part of the store for its children’s clothing and toys until its new space in the marketplace is ready.

Picker’s Flea Market, Antique & Collectible Mall has moved to a different location in the same neighborhood near the Tea exit on Interstate 29. The store at 47065 271st St. is open daily.

The “Triple Treat” Dairy Queen, Orange Julius and Karmelkorn shop has closed after serving customers in The Empire Mall since the late 1980s.