Oct. 19, 2023

Dillard’s is preparing to open its first South Dakota store the first week of March 2024.

Company leaders confirmed the plan while offering a glimpse inside the store under construction at The Empire Mall.

“Construction is progressing smoothly,” district manager assistant Michelle Wolfenberger said. “Potential applicant response is incredibly encouraging — lots of enthusiasm and interest.”

Photos from inside the store show it taking shape, with some fixtures, flooring and carpet installed.

This week, Dillard’s leaders will host the first in a series of meet-and-greet opportunities in the mall’s food court outside the store’s future entrance.

They will field questions around employment and benefits and share information about the application process, Wolfenberger said. Dillard’s expects to need more than 100 employees in mostly full-time positions.

The upcoming sessions build on an appearance from Dillard’s in September at the Sidewalk Arts Festival, where Wolfenberger said the department store enjoyed an “overwhelmingly positive reception.”

The event “provided an incredible avenue for us to share in the excitement of our new store with those who know Dillard’s and those who don’t.”

The meet-and-greets in the mall will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the following dates:

• Oct. 20-21
• Nov. 8-9
• Dec. 7-9

“They’re all about bringing in the community, from now and for a long time,” said Dan Gies, The Empire Mall’s general manager, adding that while many customers hated to lose Younkers years ago, “Dillard’s is going to really offer even more as far as brands.”

A March opening “is going to be good,” he added. “March is our third or fourth busiest month of the year with everything going on sportswise. That brings a lot of traffic, and they’ll plan for a really cool grand opening.”

Dillard’s also might not be the last major development at the mall in the coming months. After years on the market, there’s a letter of intent for the former Sears space, Gies said.

“It’s still a little ways from execution, but it’s a pretty big development opportunity,” he said. “We just have to wait to make sure it come through.”

In the meantime, Crunch Fitness is set to open yet this year, taking over the former Gordmans space on the mall campus.

Other recently announced deals include apparel store Garage coming near center court on the same side as the food court, and about 90 percent of holiday season retailers will be returning, plus a few extra ones, Gies said.

“We’ll have a good holiday presentation,” he said. “There’s a lot going on from a leasing perspective. It’s exciting to see what potential there is. There are a couple further down the pipeline you’ll be hearing about and just a lot of discussion about big things happening late 2024 into 2025. That’s a lot of excitement around Dillard’s right now … and we’re going to be building off that excitement.”