Nov. 26, 2024

A&W Restaurants is coming to the east-side Wal-Mart.

The fast-food outlet is taking over the restaurant space that has been vacant since Subway closed earlier this year. It’s expected to open in the spring, said Ruben Amador of Rapid City, area director for the California-based franchisee.

“We just need to paint it our colors and get the equipment in there,” he said.

Hours will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and the restaurant will serve the full A&W menu of burgers, chicken tenders and sliders, hot dogs, ice cream and the signature root beer.

Franchisee Todd Poling is a South Dakota native and grew up in Vermillion before moving to California a couple of decades ago, Amador said.

Poling recently opened two A&Ws in the Black Hills. The location in the Spearfish Walmart started serving food in September, and the restaurant in the east-side Walmart in Rapid City opened in late October.

The South Dakota restaurants are Poling’s first, Amador said.

Hiring in Sioux Falls likely will begin in February, and the number of workers needed will be based on projected sales, he said. The Spearfish A&W has 40 employees, and the one in Rapid City has 60.

A&W has one other location in Sioux Falls that’s owned by a different franchisee. That restaurant shares a kitchen and dining room with KFC in a building at 3401 E. 10th St.