Oct. 2, 2023

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

Scooter’s Coffee has opened at the Sanford Sports Complex. The drive-thru location is at 3201 W. Benson Road near Fleet Farm, and it’s open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. It’s the 16th store for franchisee Travis Rhoades and his 10th in Sioux Falls.

A retail center being built at the former Landscape Garden Centers site has signed two tenants. Jersey Mike’s Subs and T-Mobile will be in the strip mall at the 81 Gardens site at 81st and Minnesota. T-Mobile anticipates opening late this year, and Jersey Mike’s expects to open in the spring of 2024. The locations will be the third in Sioux Falls for both businesses.

Wells Fargo & Co. will move some teams from its downtown office at Ninth and Phillips into The Bancorp building near 69th and Western. That business is moving this month to the building that bears its name at the expanded Cherapa Place downtown. The new location won’t be a branch for Wells Fargo, but wealth management and commercial banking teams will be among those using the space after it’s remodeled.

Row House, a boutique fitness center that focuses on indoor rowing, has closed in Sioux Falls. The center, a franchised location for the national chain, opened in 2019 at The Bridges at 57th.

DQ Grill & Chill has moved its West 26th Street location into a new building at Lake Lorraine. The restaurant at 2200 S. Marion Road features a double drive-thru, dining room and patio seating.

Sioux Falls-based Avel eCare is growing its telemedicine services with the acquisition of a Texas-based virtual hospitalist provider. Fident Health adds 12 hospitals and 170 long-term care facilities, meaning Avel now will serve more than 350 hospitals and 220 senior care facilities.

Boss’ Pizzeria & Sports Bar in Tea has closed. The Sioux Falls-based Boss’ Pizza & Chicken chain bought the Tea Steak House and Tea Event Center in November 2021 from its retiring owners. Owner Jeremy Seefeldt said the business wasn’t able to gain customer support. He plans to offer the property for sale or lease.

The first Kwik Star in South Dakota has opened. Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip built the convenience store and gas station on the west side of Brandon. “We’re the neighborhood grocery store that sells hot food, fried chicken, and we happen to have gas,” district leader Joe Stortz said. The location includes a car wash. It’s open 24/7.

A locally owned fitness studio is planning to open next summer at Cherapa Place. SISU Fit will be on the first floor of The Dakota. It’s designed to be a hub for wellness services within the downtown development and for the general public, offering fitness, nutrition, personal training and corporate wellness. In addition to fitness equipment, the boutique gym will feature an indoor and outdoor sauna.

The Alibi has moved into its new home at 7400 E. Oak Grove Trail, northwest of its longtime home on Arrowhead Parkway. The new location for the bar and grill is nearly three times bigger and can hold up to 200 customers. While The Alibi is open to those 21 and older, the adjacent Scapegoat will be family-friendly. The new restaurant is expected to open this month and will feature a menu of artisan 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizzas. The building also houses Silver Dollar Casino.

Kid to Kid, a national children’s clothing resale retailer, is expanding to Sioux Falls and will be on the north side of the Western Mall next to Carpet One. Kid to Kid buys gently used children’s clothing, toys and baby gear from individuals and resells it. Local franchisee Alexa Goodroad expects to begin purchasing items early next year ahead of a spring opening.

Two former elementary school teachers have opened a preschool and tutoring center. Chelsea Murphy and Lexi Bohn are the owners of Little Learners Academy at 3822 S. Western Ave. They also offer mini camps and home-school enrichment classes. Another tutoring and learning camp center, WildRoots, subleases space next door.

Sioux Falls-based Direct Companies, a provider of managed IT services, has acquired Workplace IT Management and will continue to operate it under that name. Paul Zweifel started Direct Companies in 2012, and Joe Zueger started Workplace IT in 1997. Zueger plans to continue providing leadership and direction for Workplace into the foreseeable future. The deal adds about 45 employees to the Direct Companies’ workforce, bringing the team to about 130 people.

The former home of Buffalo Wild Wings at 909 N. West Ave. is now a bar called The Den. Todd LaHaise, the franchisee for the restaurant chain who also owns the building, needed to reactivate the liquor license, which hadn’t been used since that location for Buffalo Wild Wings closed in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iv&co, the medical spa that began as ivclub in south Sioux Falls, is moving downtown. The business opened last year inside Allure Health. Owner Jennifer Haiar has leased space on the first floor of The Bancorp Building in the expanded Cherapa Place development. She plans to open there before the end of the year.

The new IchiFuji restaurant at 1609 E. 10th St. offers an extensive menu of Japanese ramen and Korean fried chicken, drawing on the offerings of Ramen Fuji and Oppa Chicken, which also are owned by Leon Teng. Other menu items include Korean corn dogs and Japanese dishes such as donburi, katsu, curry, fried rice, yakisoba and yakiudon. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Virginia-based Owens & Minor Inc., a global Fortune 500 company that designs, manufactures and sources health care products, will share a new building in Sioux Falls with Avera Health. Site work will start this fall at Foundation Park for the 330,000-square-foot building. Owens & Minor has provided medical supplies to Avera since 2012, and the two organization have renewed an agreement for another 11 years. Owens & Minor will lease 175,000 square feet in the building and also will serve other regional health care clients from the facility. About 50 people are expected to work there. Avera will lease the remainder of the space to create an integrated service center hub for managing and coordinating medical supply logistics.

A new ghost kitchen in Sioux Falls that’s serving chicken tenders and fries is a locally owned concept. 1st & Tenders is the creation of Boss’ Pizza & Chicken. Customers can order 1st & Tenders at FirstAndTenders.com and through DoorDash. In the coming weeks, 1st & Tenders will be available throughout the Boss’ chain.

The merger of Voyage Federal Credit Union and First Century Federal Credit Union went into effect in September. The Sioux Falls-based credit unions have joined together under the Voyage name.

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