June 26, 2019

The newest B&G Milkyway opened today, bringing ice cream treats and footlong chili dogs to the southeast side of Sioux Falls.

Franchise owners Andrew and Lindsay Gibbins hoped to open the shop by the beginning of the month, but a few missed construction deadlines and a wet spring caused delays. The new B&G is on 41st Street east of Veterans Parkway, near the north entrance to Harmodon Park.

“I think it’s awesome,” Andrew Gibbins said of being right next to the ballpark. “I just love this location — when the lights are on at night, and you hear the crack of the bat.”

There’s still plenty of summer left to enjoy ice cream cones and milkshakes. B&G is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until about the time school starts in late summer, and then it closes a little earlier each night. The season runs until about Halloween. The shop will reopen March 1 or later, depending on the weather.

B&G has a drive-thru and a counter inside for taking orders. There are a few tables outside. The menu at the seven sites in the Sioux Falls area is the same. An eighth site, which will be in Harrisburg, is expected to open next summer.

The new location is still hiring. “We have about 30 employees, and we’re looking for 10 more, dayshift especially,” Andrew Gibbins said.

When Lindsay Gibbins was in high school and college, she worked at the West 12th Street location for the owners of the B&G chain, Bruce and Pam Bettmeng.

“It’s always been my favorite job,” she said.

The Bettmengs attended Lindsay and Andrew’s wedding, and Bruce said he made an off-the-cuff remark that the newlyweds should open a franchise. Lindsay told her husband they should do it.

“I said, ‘You’re crazy,’” Andrew said. She asked again, and he agreed they should meet with the Bettmengs to learn more. They decided to become the owners in October.

Lindsay will keep her job as a nurse at the Avera Heart Hospital. Andrew will run the day-to-day operations at the store.

The couple, who are new parents, met when they both worked at Famous Dave’s in North Dakota. Lindsay was in Bismarck for nursing school, and Andrew had returned to his high school job after serving in the military. He later worked at Malloy Electric, but he missed the food industry, so it wasn’t too hard to say yes to Lindsay’s idea of owning a restaurant franchise.

Now, they’re looking forward to becoming part of summer in Sioux Falls for young families like theirs and others who are fans of B&G Milkyway.