Oct. 18, 2022

MatchBox Candle Co. has opened at 124 S. Phillips Ave. The Colorado-based business specializes in 100 percent soy wax candles that are poured on-site. It also sells consigned work from local makers and offers candle-making workshops for groups. The store is open daily.

Brock Allen has started Elite Contracting, a residential and commercial construction company. While he does “a little bit of everything,” his main services include siding, windows and doors, soffit and fascia, gutters and gutter protection, and interior remodeling.

Sahara Grill & Cuisine, which specializes in traditional Iraqi foods, has opened in the Neighborhood Market at 4309 E. 12th St. The restaurant features a variety of dishes, from grilled beef kabob and chicken shawarma to falafel and gyros. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History and the Butterfly House & Aquarium plan to become one organization and build a new butterfly conservatory and aquarium on the zoo’s campus. The hope is to be moved from Sertoma Park into the new facility by the end of 2025.

A renovation of Augustana University’s Morrison Commons will include a new Chick-fil-A location. The restaurant, which will be operated by Sodexo, is expected to open in a year and also will be available to the public.

Sanford Health has reopened the Sioux Empire Medical Museum in the lower level of the Sanford USD Medical Center. It had been closed for remodeling for the past few years. The museum, which focuses on the history of nursing, is free and open for people to visit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

The new Tea Play Place offers an indoor playground for infants and toddlers and a coffee shop for parents and caregivers. It’s located at 901 N. Main Ave. in Tea and is open every day except for Tuesdays. Daily and discount punch passes are available, along with monthly or annual memberships.

Riccardo and Marybeth Tarabelsi are overseeing the final touches on the new Maribella Ristorante at Washington Square, 12th Street and Main Avenue. It will offer a 60-seat bar and 90-seat dining room. The menu, which will be available on both areas, is inspired by the cuisine of Northern Italy. The target is to be open by Nov. 4 if not sooner.

JD’s House of Trophies has new owners: Nicholas and Kellee Blumer. They have updated the showroom and production area and expanded the business to include online sales and new personalized promotional products.

Tammy and Ryan Green are planning to build an event venue just north of Crooks. Winter-Green Acres will be able to accommodate about 425 people for a sit-down event. It will have a liquor license and a prep kitchen. The Greens are hoping to host their first events in mid-2023.

Sanford Sports Complex has opened its 18-field addition known as The Diamond. The turfed fields can be used for baseball, softball and soccer.

Amazon has started receiving and shipping merchandise out of its new five-story fulfillment center in Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls. It’s expected to add almost 150 employees per week until it reaches a staff of 1,500.

Dustin and Allie McLouth are opening Prosper Country Warehouse & Event Hall just east of Lennox. It will host events for up to 375 guests. The McLouths plan to open the hall in January of next year.

A West African grocery store at 1002 E. Eighth St. has added a restaurant. Fatu African Market and Kitchen is owned by Ralph and Fatu Cooper, Liberian refugees. It’s open daily and offers limited seating, focusing mostly on to-go orders.

Randle’s Kitchen is closed. The restaurant opened in March at 114 N. Indiana Ave.

Your Pet Stop at 501 E. 41st St. and Doody’s, businesses owned by Telly Rollinger, have a new name: Roxi & Co. Roxi’s continues to sell the same products, offers dog waste removal services and installs invisible dog fences. Roxi is the name of Rollinger’s mom, who died from breast cancer in 2014.