April 19, 2022

Here’s a look at recent changes in the business landscape in the Sioux Falls area.

Several openings and new business announcements at The Empire Mall have happened in the past two weeks:

• Daily Thread, a retailer that promotes itself as offering affordable fashion for women, will fill a space near the Macy’s wing that most recently was Christopher & Banks. It’s a newer concept from NYC Alliance and has four locations in Minnesota, two in New York and one in Wisconsin. The Empire Mall location is expected to open early this summer.
• A locally owned restaurant featuring build-your-own pastas and hot-and-ready flatbreads is coming to The Empire Mall. Thyme Cafe & Catering, which started in Lennox and moved to Sioux Falls with the new year, is taking a space in the mall’s food court. Owner Taylor Massey said she will continue to operate her location at Signature Flight Support at Joe Foss Field. She serves breakfast and lunch there, provides catering services and also offers take-and-bake meals, which she has suspended while she gets the restaurant started at the mall. Massey hopes to be open by May 1.
• Tullabee has opened next to Victoria’s Secret and GNC. The children’s retailer is from the owners of Altar’d State and offers baby and kids apparel, accessories and gift items.
• Dial N Style has added a storefront in the longtime Stewart’s location that most recently was G&M Braiding Studio. It sells phone cases and accessories, and plans to add refurbished phones and phone repair. It will continue to operate a kiosk in the mall outside Bath & Body Works.
• Accessory store Lovisa has opened next to Pink by Victoria’s Secret and Bella Brow Bar. The Australian jewelry chain offers “on-trend fashion jewelry at ready-to-wear prices.”

After almost three years of anticipation, Dave & Buster’s opened its arcade and restaurant April 4 at Lake Lorraine. Although it’s not a full-size location, it can hold 1,150 people and has 88 games. Dave & Buster’s is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesday through Saturday. It’s open later occasionally for major televised sporting events.

A couple who discovered trendy soda shops while visiting family in Utah and Arizona is bringing the concept to south Sioux Falls. SoDak Soda will be in a retail center along 85th Street west of Western Avenue. The shop will feature soft drinks that are customized with flavored syrups, fruit purees and creams, “making it extra delicious,” said Katy Rees, who owns the business with her husband, Dr. Joseph Rees. In addition to drinks, SoDak Soda will serve sweet and savory snacks. They’re hoping to open in late June or early July.

The downtown Starbucks that shut down after a vehicle drove into the building last month has partially reopened. Drive-thru service at 13th Street and Minnesota Avenue has returned, and customers can place a mobile order and pick it up by standing outside the door.

Concrete Materials is transitioning to the name Knife River. In 2018, North Dakota-based MDU Resources Group acquired Sioux Falls-based Sweetman Construction, which operated as Concrete Materials. The business became part of MDU’s Knife River Corp. It’s in the company’s North Central Region, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. Logos will be changing on equipment, building signs will be updated, marketing materials will evolve, and employees will be wearing new branded clothing, hard hats and vests.

The longtime operator of a concessions trailer has added a food truck that specializes in carnival foods like walking tacos and corn dogs. Mark Moore of Marc O’s Festival Foods did 22 events last year with the bright red truck beginning in July and has already started this season.

Breadsmith has started baking and selling Bakologie by Lauren Lavin cookies on Fridays and Saturdays at all four bread shops. Four cookie flavors will be offered each month.

SafeSplash Swim School is expanding to the east side of Sioux Falls. Franchisees Dan and Christa Sobocinski have leased a location at Dawley Farm Village three years after opening in a retail center at 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue. The new location will be in the same retail center as Jersey Mike’s Subs on the northwest edge of the development is expected to open near the end of the year.

North Dakota-based Great Hall Properties plans to construct a 200,000-square-foot industrial building on speculation. It will be on a 52-acre site near Interstate 90 and Marion Road that could hold up to three buildings.

Maribella Ristorante will be the name of the new upscale Italian restaurant coming to Washington Square downtown. It’s a nod to owner Riccardo Tarabelsi’s wife, Marybeth. The two also own R Wine Bar & Kitchen and the future Brix Wine Bar, which is scheduled to open later this month at Washington Square.

A traveling food stand that specializes in smoked meat sandwiches is expanding its presence this year. Anthony Withers started selling his original FadeAways sandwiches midway through last year’s food truck season, appearing at bars and breweries, and catering private events. This year, he’s planning to be out more, building the business toward a full-time career.

Daylight Donuts has closed. The bakery at 333 S. Minnesota Ave. appears to have shut down in March, according to customer reports.

Dakota Vision Therapy, which started in 2011, has moved its services to the Dakota Vision Center location at Dawley Farm Village. In vision therapy, work is done primarily with children who have vision problems that are the cause for reading, learning, comprehension and even attention issues. Dakota Vision Therapy also works with children and adults who have vision disorders resulting from acquired or traumatic brain injuries, such as a concussion.

Midco has moved its customer experience center, or CXC, from Louise Avenue to Dawley Farm Village. It’s located in a space that most recently was Christopher & Banks. Midco CXCs are designed as places to pick up or drop off equipment, answer questions and accept payments for the company’s internet, TV and telephone services.

Joni Williamson has opened Auntie J’s American Soul Food on Main Street in Lennox. She calls her food “new-style American soul food,” and her menu includes traditional items such as barbecued ribs, fried chicken, collard greens and homemade cornbread and rolls. She also offers tacos, Italian food and other cuisine. The restaurant currently is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, offers brunch the second Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and has a self-serve coffee bar and pastry counter from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Josiah’s Coffeehouse, Cafe & Bakery at 104 W. 12th St. has reopened after an almost monthlong “rearranging” project. There’s a better flow to reach the counter to order, more restrooms and a two-sided fireplace. Walls that once blocked off the Phillips Gathering Space that could seat up to 80 people have been removed, filling the entire room with natural light.

After more than 15 years, Augustana University has decided to bring back its social work program within the Sharon Lust School of Education. The Harriet Emily Scott Social Work Program at Augustana will include Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work degrees.

Avera plans to add 12 pickleball courts to its Avera on Louise Health Campus in southwest Sioux Falls. Construction and development of the 12 courts, along with lighting and a restroom facility, will begin in mid-May on land east of the Avera Human Performance Center next to 77th Street. When the $1.5 million project is complete in early August, courts will be open and free to use by the public.

Nyberg’s Ace Hardware has become the first business to announce plans to locate at a major new development in southeast Sioux Falls. The store will be part of Harvest Creek on 57th Street near Veterans Parkway. No construction timeline has been set.

Falls Overlook Cafe by Stensland has reopened for the season on the east side of Falls Park. Spring hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Sanford Psychiatry & Psychology Clinic has opened a second location. The new site is at 7511 S. Louise Ave. and houses 13 providers.

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