July 16, 2024

A Valley Springs restaurant has expanded to Sioux Falls.

Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse has taken over the small kitchen in The Gaslight Lounge.

Restaurant owner Randy Ragatz and the bar at 2206 W. 12th St. are throwing a grand-opening party for Fat Daddy’s on Saturday with live music from 3 to 9 p.m. in the parking lot and free pulled pork sandwiches, starting at 4 p.m. — while supplies last.

Ragatz’s barbecue skills drew a following in 2020 when he operated Bone Daddy’s Smokehouse out of The Phoenix Lounge in Harrisburg and Bushwhackers Bar & Grill in Canton.

The new venture, Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse, got its start a year ago when Ragatz took over the kitchen at On the Rocks in Valley Springs. It began with a trial run of Friday and Saturday nights and has expanded to include Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with hours of 11 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. depending on how busy it is.

In Sioux Falls, Fat Daddy’s is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It will add Mondays in the fall when dart leagues start up again.

Owner Randy Ragatz and chef Louie Benavente

The menu includes smoked wings, burgers, pulled pork or smoked chicken sandwiches, brisket or chicken Phillies and Fat Daddy’s Bowls, which are mac-and-cheese topped with pulled pork, brisket or buffalo chicken.

There are chicken tacos, chislic, loaded nachos and standard appetizers like onion rings, cheese curds and breaded mushrooms.

Lighter fare includes hot dogs, smoked bratwurst and chicken strips.

Sides include fries, coleslaw, jalapeno creamed corn, baked beans, mac-and-cheese and loaded potato salad with bacon and cheese.

Ragatz’s style of smoking meat is with a dry rub that isn’t spicy.

“I smear it with a dry rub. You don’t need barbecue sauce, but people are so used to it that they put it on. I try to tell them not to – at least try it before – but most people just (Ragatz makes the sound of sauce coming out of a squeeze bottle).”

And customers like Ragatz’s barbecue sauce so much that he sells it by the bottle in several flavors.

His smoker is out in Valley Springs, “so I smoke everything out there and bring it here.” He’d like to build a shed behind The Gaslight and put three smokers in it.

The bar has a full liquor license, so customers can have a beer or cocktail with their meal. Families can eat in the restaurant until 9 p.m., and there are a couple of picnic tables outside.

The bar has been without food since Kenards Grille closed in December 2023. Before that, the small kitchen in the back of the bar was home to The Dive. It operated there for a year and opened its own restaurant in Park Ridge Galleria in March 2023.

Next door to The Gaslight, JJ’s Billiards just serves pizza, so Fat Daddy’s has pagers for those customers.

“They come over here and order it, they get a pager, and when it goes off, they come back and get it or if he’s not busy, he’ll just take it over,” Ragatz said of chef Louie Benavente.

Delivery is available through DoorDash.