May 15, 2026

Within minutes of Walters Hi-Ho Tavern being listed for sale online, broker Dave Larson’s phone began ringing.

Some of the callers wanted more information on the business, but others just wanted to express their dismay at the thought of Sioux Falls losing another storied dive bar.

In March, the Top Hat Bar & Lounge announced that it would have to vacate its longtime South First Avenue location. Last month, the owners shared that the Top Hat would move to South Main Avenue, a few blocks — and in some ways a world — away.

Now, the future of the Hi-Ho, which owner Monte Patterson said is the city’s oldest bar by name, could be in doubt.

But the Hi-Ho’s faithful repeat customer base and strong local presence should be assets in keeping it a neighborhood bar that draws in people from around Sioux Falls, Larson said. He himself doesn’t want to see the bar vanish.

“When Monte reached out to me, part of me wanted to tell him, no, I won’t list that because I don’t want it to change,” Larson said.

The Hi-Ho’s customer base is diverse, said Patterson, who has owned the bar with his wife, Larissa, for the past nine years. The bar, which boasts of having “the coldest beer in town,” kept its price for a bottle of beer at $3 for almost 10 years before recently increasing it to $3.25.

“We get blue collar, white collar; a group of POET people came in on Tuesday,” Patterson said. “We’ve had prominent business leaders, multi-multi-multi-millionaires. We get them all.”

Walters Hi-Ho is named after two brothers, George and Erv Walters, who owned it for more than a decade. Patterson didn’t hesitate to retain the name when he took over.

Walters Hi-Ho at 1014 E. Eighth St. sits on the east side of dotnwon, an area that has seen several new businesses and redevelopment projects in recent years. Several well-known bars, like Red Sea Pub and Little Coalinga, closed in the past decade, and Good NAtured, which offered nonalcoholic beverages, moved off East Eighth Street to a new location this spring.

The owners of The Hello Hi in the heart of downtown on Phillips Avenue are remodeling the former Good NAtured site, which once housed Red Sea Pub and, before that, Smoe’s.

Patterson said in a 2023 SiouxFalls.Business article that he would welcome more bars in the area. He can foresee the Hi-Ho’s new owner collaborating with the proprietors of nearby Phil’s and other venues.

“With it (the new bar) opening, it’s a big opportunity for us and for people to go back and forth there along with Phil’s,” Patterson said. “There’s the live music that Phil’s is getting more into. We’ve always had live music. There’s a lot of opportunities for all three of us to bounce off each other and help each other out.”

It is becoming harder and harder for dive bars to succeed unless they can collaborate with others, Patterson said. The Hi-Ho has taken part of dive bar tours, where a limo bus is rented, driving passengers to seven dive bars.

The Hi-Ho has a beer and wine license. It did not make financial sense to vie for one of Sioux Falls’ costly liquor licenses, Patterson said. He would like the city to consider issuing liquor licenses that would offer a smaller, rotating selection of alcoholic beverages.

“The last one went for about $400,000, and for a dive bar to invest in, that would take years,” Patterson said. “I didn’t really see the need. I’m not a greedy person.”

The fact that the Hi-Ho cannot serve hard liquor could enhance its chances of staying a neighborhood bar, Larson said. He’s a longtime friend of the Pattersons and familiar with the Hi-Ho.

“I’ve spent some time there, let’s put it that way,” he said. “The thing I love about it, it doesn’t matter what time of day you go there, 9 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, you’re going to have the same groups of people. That’s so fun and neat, and most of them are neighborhood people.”

The Hi-Ho is listed with Dave & Co. Real Estate Team, part of Hegg Realtors. The building also has a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, which would produce income for a new owner.

Patterson is retired military and his wife is semi-retired. The couple decided to sell the Hi-Ho so they can travel more. He said he can’t take the time that he would like while owning the bar.

“As much as the Hi-Ho runs itself, there’s still phone calls and decisions that need to be made and people to put in charge and people to take care of money,” he said. “I’m 55. It’s time to pass it to somebody who might want to spend more time there or want to invest in the property itself.”

A new owner can make any changes they want, but Patterson would like to see the Hi-Ho’s atmosphere and attitude remain the same. He plans to keep the bar open until a sale is finalized.