Nov. 21, 2019

A longtime east-side bar has a new look inside and a revamped menu.

The Alpine Inn, which opened in 1976 and is filled with “loyal regulars,” was closed for a little over a week earlier this month for the remodeling project. It’s at 212 S. Sneve Ave., across the street from Eastway Bowl on East 10th Street.

“We put in all new TVs,” said Jamie Hurley, a district manager for M.G. Oil Co. of Rapid City, which bought The Alpine and several other Sioux Falls bars almost two years ago from Thompson Properties. “We have four 75-inch and a 55-inch, and we’re adding more on the walls to make it more of a sports bar.”

Crews pulled out the carpeting, refinished the concrete floor and painted. “We have new lights and new ceiling tiles so they all match now,” Hurley said, noting that the tables and chairs were replaced too.

The bathrooms are being remodeled next.

Sometime after that, the next project is partitioning off part of the space and adding another entrance door to create a second address so 10 more video lottery machines can be added, Hurley said. “That still has to go through the state,” she said.

In addition to the visual changes, the menu has been overhauled.

“It went from five pages down to one and a half,” Hurley said. “We’re going to be just more of a bar instead of a restaurant.”

Customers will find traditional bar food such as chislic, wings, onion rings and pizza. Hamburgers range from basic to the Hangover, which has a fried egg, bacon and cheese. There are a few Mexican menu items too: a taco salad, chimichanga, quesadilla and tacos. Entrees include steak and chicken fettucine.

The Alpine also added a $7 lunch menu with hamburgers, sandwiches, tacos and salads.

Happy hour runs every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with half-priced drinks, and there are additional daily specials after that until close.

The bar continues to have karaoke on Friday nights and live music on Saturday nights.

It’s open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.