Nov. 22, 2023

R Wine Bar & Kitchen is adding lunch service.

The downtown restaurant at 322 E. Eighth St. will start the expanded hours Tuesday.

Founded by Riccardo and Marybeth Tarabelsi in 2018, R Wine Bar & Kitchen is known for its Italian menu, large wine selection and live music in the evenings.

The lunch menu will include salads, panini sandwiches, pastas and desserts.

“We see an opportunity on that side of downtown, the East Bank, with all the development and growth happening, not to mention our own following has asked us if we’d ever be open for lunch,” Riccardo Tarabelsi said. “They are looking for a sit-down, full-service lunch spot in downtown Sioux Falls.”

Panini sandwiches were part of the original menu when the wine bar opened five years ago, and customers have asked about them, Tarabelsi said. Four options will be coming to the lunch menu, using a “great gluten-free (bread) as well as several salads, two popular pastas and the full dessert menu.”

“We’re going to start there and see,” he said. “Like everything else we’ve done, we try to start a little smaller and see what the demand is.”

Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the dinner menu beginning at 3 p.m. Reservations will be accepted, and the restaurant’s event spaces can be used during lunch.

The Tarabelsi’s also own Brix Wine Bar and Maribella Ristorante in downtown Sioux Falls, as well as Vespa Catering.