Jan. 31, 2025

Breadico is coming back downtown in the form of a new cafe at Cherapa Place.

The bread shop will keep its retail presence at 6219 S. Western Ave. while bringing an expanded menu to the new Breadico Cafe inside The Bancorp Building along the Big Sioux River.

“We want to diversify our portfolio of what we do,” said owner David Napolitano, who is developing the cafe with his wife, Megan.

“I think a lot of people love our sandwiches, and I’m always looking at new development. We were thinking about putting something at Cherapa Place before they even announced the new development. I’ve looked at every space … but Megan saw that space and was blown away by it.”

The building is close to where Breadico once operated on Weber Avenue, Megan added.

“We want to take our passion for sourdough and fresh-milled flour and see everything we can do from there,” she said.

There will be baking on-site, and the vision is for a cafe bakery with the feel of a coffee house where customers can spend as much time as they’d like there, David said.

“We really want people to be able to come in quick and get a sandwich and continue walking along the river, or if they want to sit there all day drinking coffee and beer toward evening, they can do that,” he said.

“We’re really trying to create a space that’s comfortable, beautiful, healthy — because I think it’s the most beautiful retail visual in all of Sioux Falls because it’s right on the river facing downtown.”

The building includes Combine apparel and home decor store and iv&co, and has space for additional retailers.

“I think this is such a unique space and a rare opportunity where people can feel welcome right on the river with direct access to the bike trail,” said Anne Haber, a partner in Cherapa Place.

“It’s something Sioux Falls doesn’t have, and I think it will build on what Breadico began on the East Bank many years ago. I remember back then it felt so urban, and as we’ve followed David over the years, I’ve had such a deep respect for him, his design aesthetic, his product, and him and Megan as people. They’re doing so much for the Sioux Falls food scene we’re just honored they want to be in this building and they’re excited about it.”

The Napolitanos envision a “brutalist” style of design for their space, highlighting its concrete pillars with leather and metals in a way that lifts up the products that will be offered within the cafe.

“Megan and I really wanted to work with the Cherapa group because we can tell in their buildings that it’s very intentional,” David said.

“They use real materials. Their laminated wood buildings are really intentional and specific, and I really appreciate that from a builder and designer and artist perspective. So I’ve been wanting to work with them, and getting to know them has been equally refreshing. … They’ve been very helpful and accommodating.”

The menu is still in development, but the cafe will serve guests beginning at 7 a.m. with items such as yogurt, quiche and grain bowls and then continuing through lunch with sandwiches that feature both Breadico’s signature sourdough breads and fresh-milled wheat.

There also will be Italian pastries and an evening menu to complement beer and wine. A closing time hasn’t been set yet.

“We have such great access to such great wheat and even ancient grains like einkorn, but no one has really been able to broker what the farmer is making grain-wise into what consumers can consume,” David said. “So the concept with this infusion is we want to push the conversation of what whole-wheat bread can be.”

Napolitano had explored the concept through a brand, Millhouse, that he formed after building his own flour mill. He has since shrunk the operation, which means a warehouse space in Tea that was used for the operation is available to lease through Van Buskirk Cos.

“We’ve gone through a lot of iterations of Breadico,” he said. “We’re trying again to be able to bring grains that are awesome. It’s a hard job as an organic farmer, and we’re trying to expand the conversation on that (with the cafe) more so than we’ve been able to incorporate it with Breadico originally.”

There’s a space in the building to lease next to Combine as well as some next to the future Breadico, Haber said, adding the bakery/cafe will be a strong complement to Pomegranate Market, which will open its second Sioux Falls location later this year in The Clark building at Cherapa Place and will continue to carry Breadico bread.

“We really hope to be that destination that focuses on overall quality of life, from what you wear to what you’re putting in your body to how you’re moving your body,” Haber said. “There are multiple reasons to come down here, and this will be a unique destination for people to enjoy, along with being an amazing addition for our residential and commercial tenants.”

The plan is to open sometime this summer.