The SandBar & Grill offers new views, new tastes
By Rosemary McCoy
The SandBar & Grill planned to throw a kickoff party for its patio earlier this month, but South Dakota’s spring weather wasn’t cooperating.
While the temperature has reached into the low 80s already, the high was in the 50s and it was raining going into the weekend for the planned kickoff. General manager Dallas Boelman postponed it to June 9 and 10.
The restaurant at 2310 S. Marion Road opened in March 2015, and the patio was ready by autumn that year, Boelman said.
The patio has been a popular spot already this year.
The view from the patio, which seats 75, keeps changing as the Lake Lorraine development begins to fill with businesses, he said.
“There’s a lot more traffic,” Boelman said. And the addition of Sioux Falls Ford Lincoln, Carsforsale.com, Hobby Lobby and other businesses will keep that momentum going, he said.
“When it was really nice in April, we had a lot of people take advantage of it,” Boelman said of the patio. On Thursday nights, diners can enjoy live music outside. Most of the performances are one- or two-person acoustical acts. Inside, the restaurant offers a trivia contest with prizes on Wednesday nights. And throughout the week, there are drink and food specials, including half-price half-pound hamburgers all day on Mondays.
On June 12, the restaurant will debut its spring and summer menu, chef Chad Mercurial said. Some of the new features include a tropical cottage salad, Thai chicken and shrimp stir fry, and chicken parmigiana.
Appetizers will feature a 50-50 flatbread for “people who can’t make up their mind,” Mercurial said. Half of it will be chicken alfredo and the other half will be pepperoni with marinara. The chef, who has been at the restaurant since it opened, said he’s saving a few other new items as “surprises.”
The SandBar & Grill seats 250 and has a full liquor license. It’s owned by a local group, Schroeder Restaurant Services, which also operates Poppadox Pub and a couple of casinos, Boelman said.