March 3, 2023

In the annual reassurance that spring really is coming, the first B&G Milkyway ice cream shops began opening this week.

The location at 69th Street and Louise Avenue stuck to its traditional opening on the first Wednesday in March even though it was the earliest date possible, 28 degrees, windy and crusty piles of snow were everywhere.

“Always,” owner DiAnn Burwell said of the early March opening. “Rain, shine, snow, sleet. The parking lot even got cleared. I was happy about that. I was worried about that.”

Last year, temperatures were in the 50s, but Sioux Falls isn’t so lucky this year with several inches of snow still on the ground.

All the Milkyway favorites – the soft-serve twists, Avalanches and footlong hot dogs – are still on the menu. New this year are big, flavored-ice popsicles as a nondairy option and a cod sandwich for Lent.

If the baked, beer-battered cod filet served with tartar sauce and shredded lettuce on a steamed bun does well, it could stick around longer, Burwell said.

New Avalanche flavors might be coming, she said. Last year’s big sellers? “You can’t beat Cookie Dough,” she said. California Dream’n with strawberry ice cream, cake batter and cookie dough was popular too.

The only price increase at opening day is 10 cents more for add-on toppings.

A new franchise location, the ninth for the chain, will open this season at 69th Street and Cliff Avenue. The opening date is uncertain, said Bruce Bettmeng, who sells the franchises and also owns two shops of his own.

“Tentative, it was May 1, but we’re looking probably not until at least mid-May if not June 1. It’s kind of a tough winter. I don’t know if you noticed, but we got a little snow. We’ve got to wait for Mother Nature to thaw out the ground to get the parking lot in.”

A year ago, Bettmeng bought land on Louise Avenue south of 85th Street for the relocation of the congested 69th and Louise shop. That’s on hold because of construction costs, he said.

At this time last year, he also was working with a potential franchisee for a location in Hartford.

“They got nervous with the economy,” Bettmeng said. “As far as I know, they still own the land. I haven’t talked to them, to be honest with you, for about a year now. I was going to touch base and see where they’re at.”

In the meantime, Dairy Queen opened in Hartford, but Bettmeng still sees room for Milkyway.

“That scared them off. It didn’t scare me off. They were a little concerned about it,” he said of the potential franchisees.

DQ is in Brandon, “they’re going to Tea, they’re going to go to Harrisburg. You can’t worry about what other people are doing. I think it’s apples and oranges,” he said of the two brands.

Here are the opening dates or time frame for each B&G Milkyway location:

• 69th Street: Open
• East 41st Street near Harmodon Park: Open
• West 41st Street: Tuesday
• Sycamore Avenue: March 8
• Brandon: March 13, tentative
• Harrisburg: March 15, tentative
• Tea: March 15
• West 12th Street: April
• 69th & Cliff: May