By Jodi Schwan

Jeff and Sheila Hazard are creating something in their latest downtown project that’s different than anything in the Sioux Falls market.

It started with trips to California and other urban centers, where they visited indoor marketplaces populated by small and independent retailers.

They knew it might be an undertaking to make something similar work in Sioux Falls, but they structured the first floor of their Jones421 condominium project with that in mind anyway.

And the market appears to be responding.

Months before anyone can move into the building, five businesses have leased space on the first floor. They will share a common seating area in the center of the building, and many will have access to a courtyard outside.

“You’ve got to have things down below,” Sheila Hazard said. “The north side of downtown is going to do so well having these businesses there.”

From a floral shop to new food and beverage options, the space has less than half of its 10,000 square feet left.

“We’re working toward opening toward the end of July or early August,” Hazard said. “We’re starting the build-out and discussing their needs, but if people come later they’re maybe not going to be in the first wave.”

Floral shop commits

Bella Rosa was one of the first businesses to commit to moving into the Jones project. The mother and daughter team of Ann Summa and Leigh McCoy started the business nine years ago.

They have used a studio in Harrisburg, “but we’ve never had retail, so this will be a new adventure for us,” McCoy said.

Along with being a full-service flower shop, they plan to sell home decor, gifts, greeting cards and candles.

While they have built the business serving weddings, McCoy said they’re looking forward to offering daily arrangements in a unique environment.

“It will be like a European market type of feel, where you can come in and pick out flowers like you’d see in buckets on the streets of Paris,” she said. “And we’re excited because our space will open to the sidewalk and in warmer weather we’ll be able to open to the outside.”

Food and drink moving in

Coffee, gelato, craft beer and foods with regional and international flavor also are coming to the building.

Swamp Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen is expanding from a food truck to a small restaurant space, leasing 600 square feet.

Del’Innka Beaudion and her husband, Julian, started the mobile restaurant three years ago. They’re keeping the truck but had been looking for a more permanent location.

“A food truck is so seasonal, and this is my full-time and my mother-in-law’s full-time job, so we were looking for something to take it to the next step,” Del’Innka Beaudion said. “We were just ready at this point to take the next step in opening up the restaurant. So it’s scary and will be a challenge, but we’re looking forward to it.”

The menu will include food truck favorites and might expand to beer and wine. There will be bar seating with an open kitchen, some tables in the restaurant and more in the shared courtyard.

The marketplace concept is “amazing,” Beaudion said.

“I hadn’t heard or seen this concept like they told me they had seen in bigger cities,” she said of the Hazards.

“And the fact that they’re helping small businesses grow and better themselves and promote their business is amazing. I think it’s definitely a big-city concept, and I think Sioux Falls is ready for that. I’m pretty excited to see how it develops. And I’m excited to see how Sioux Falls accepts it.”

Boki Gelato, which has a location at The Empire Mall, will have a space facing Phillips Avenue in the Jones marketplace.

Owner Borjan Jaksic opened the mall location three years ago, added a food truck last year and has been thinking about expanding downtown.

“It was always kind of in our minds as the next step,” he said. “We’re really excited.”

The downtown location will have a similar menu as the mall, with several flavors of gelato, waffles and crepes. It also will serve shaved ice, which the food truck does too.

“He will have access directly to the courtyard, which is a fun place to sit and have a little ice cream, and we have internal seating for the winter,” Hazard said. “A lot of these businesses are wanting a little seating for themselves.”

In addition, Jaksic leased a second space a couple doors down in the building for a new Mediterranean restaurant. It will be 350 square feet and open a couple months after the gelato shop. Jaksic is still working on the name, but the concept is Mediterranean-style street food, he said.

“We’re just bringing the Mediterranean cuisine fast casual. So you can run in and grab something to go or sit down. We’ll have gyros with Mediterranean flavors, galette, so it’s exciting to bring the culture and the taste in not necessarily a sit-down but to go,” he said.

The former Black Sheep Coffee, which had to close when its building on West 11th Street was demolished this spring, is moving into the Jones project with a new concept called The Source Coffee Roaster + Taproom. It will focus on providing small-batch roasted coffee and specialty coffees sourced worldwide. The Source also will sell craft beer from artisan brewers.

Joe and Lisa Williams remain as the owners. The business will be managed by daughter Kristin Chau, and the space is being designed by daughter Haley Rogers.

“Overall, we will be focusing on creating a space that is inviting, interesting and fun,” Chau said. “The Jones421 concept was immediately a place of interest for us. Over the years, our family had been discussing the idea of creating an open market concept much like we are getting at the Jones421 location.”

In addition to coffee and craft beer, the menu will include small-plate food options during the morning and afternoon.

“I love that the Jones421 location will be a one-stop shopping experience, offering one-of-a-kind, high-quality selections of artisan and ethnic products,” Chau said. “The open floor plan creates a community-oriented philosophy, allowing all businesses to work together in creating a positive experience for our customers.”

Broker Reggie Kuipers, who represented The Source as it looked for a new location, said Chau’s vision fit perfectly with The Source concept.

“The vision that Jeff and Sheila Hazard have for this development is trendsetting for Sioux Falls,” said Kuipers, a partner in Bender Commercial Real Estate Services. “Communal seating, a shared courtyard venue for seating and events, and artisan tenants in a mixed-use condo development within short walking distance to the falls and the future Levitt Pavilion.”

Condo update

The upper floors of Jones421 will be condominiums.

Of the 32 available units, 20 are pre-sold.

“So we’re about two-thirds done, and we’re really getting interest from Realtors now,” Hazard said.

The remaining units have one or two bedrooms, along with condos as large as 2,500 square feet.

The first residents are scheduled to move in before August.