June 10, 2026

A Sioux Falls woman will draw on her Balkan heritage as she opens what she calls a “one-stop charcuterie shop.”

Sladjana McCord has hired a contractor to prepare the vacant store at 1524 S. Sycamore Ave. for Modern Meze, which will offer small plates or large trays featuring specialty meats and cheese and other offerings such as fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and sweets.

A meze (pronounced muh-zeh) is a small assortment of various foods served before any meal in countries such as Serbia and Bosnia, McCord said. But it’s more than an appetizer—it’s an attitude.

“It is a cultural ritual and an invitation to slow down, connect and create memories,” McCord said. “That simple idea sits at the heart of everything we do. It’s a well-known thing in Balkan culture.”

Her parents, Vlado and Duka Petrovic, hail from the Balkan region, and McCord grew up enjoying meze at home and at church. Her father is at least the second generation in his family to smoke meats and cheeses, and McCord used to urge him to start a meat and cheese store. He would demur, saying he was too old.

McCord had worked for a corporate bank, in the nonprofit world and as a manager for two chiropractic offices in Sioux Falls before deciding to stay at home with her three children a couple of years ago. She pursued other interests, such as putting together charcuterie boards with decorative displays of meats, cheeses and other items.

Friends would urge her to turn it into a business, but, like her father, McCord hesitated. Then, one day she paid close attention to the lyrics of the song “’Til You Can’t” by Cody Johnson.

“If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance
“If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back.”

“Something clicked in my mind, and I wanted to do it,” McCord said. “I looked into licenses and learned you need a commercial kitchen. For a long year and two months, I could not find a commercial kitchen in Sioux Falls. They were impossible to rent out for a part-time gig. Then my husband said, you should open a store.”

After that, things started coming together quickly for McCord and her husband, Tony. Their business, located next to Walt & Mary’s Nutrition on Sycamore, is undergoing renovation now. The store should be open in late July or early August.

McCord will use meats and cheeses imported from Europe on her meze platters and charcuterie boards. She also will sell those products to people who want to make their own and expects to offer charcuterie classes at some point.

That’s the retail side. Modern Meze will also offer two different options for dining in. The first option in the daytime will be to go through a line and pick out the items the diner desires. Evenings will be “more of an intimate sit-down, dine-in experience,” McCord said, “not going down the line.”

Modern Meze will serve beer and wine, McCord said. She also will offer catering for special events and rentals of items such as charcuterie carts. The building will offer a small intimate event room for meetings and social gatherings. McCord also enjoys party planning and hopes to use those skills in Modern Meze as well.

The concept behind Modern Meze is unique in Sioux Falls and South Dakota, McCord.

“There’s not a place you can dine in for charcuterie; it’s not something we have here,” she said. “Both options are something of a new concept here in Sioux Falls. It would be considered bougie modern, more upscale dining.”

Modern Meze’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It will be closed on Sunday and Monday although orders can be placed online. Set hours for dining in are being evaluated; McCord thinks those will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Modern Meze’s progress can be followed on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.