Drybar, Korean barbecue among newest additions coming to Empire Place
June 15, 2023
A blowout salon and a Korean barbecue restaurant are coming soon — and a smoothie bar is getting ready to open.
They’re among the latest additions to Empire Place, the new retail development in front of The Empire Mall anchored by Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chick-fil-A.
In addition to the two stand-alone restaurants and Chase Bank, the rest of Empire Place is four multi-tenant retail centers. The original two are full, and tenants now are leasing and opening in the second two.
Taichi Bubble Tea opened in one of the new retail centers this week. The national concept is locally franchised and offers a menu of ramen, sushi, bubble teas and other beverages.
Next to it, Smoothie King plans to open June 21.
“We’re just going through the final steps and just getting everything wrapped up and finished up,” franchisee Angie Nearman said. “We’re excited about where we’re at and excited for the traffic we’ll get. While we’ve been here unloading boxes, we’ve had a lot of people come in.”
Hiring “has been super great,” she said. “We haven’t had any issues at all.”
A new salon concept also will be coming to Empire Place this summer. Drybar, a national salon specializing in blowouts, is being franchised by Robin Zebroski and her husband, Melvin. Her sister, Keri Casteel, is the regional manager overseeing their four locations: two in Sioux Falls, one in Rapid City and one in Billings, Montana.
Zebroski is chief brand officer for Monument Health and will continue in her executive role; she previously spent a decade at Lawrence & Schiller and now lives in Sturgis. Casteel has a background in business management, including startups and rebranding.
Drybar does not offer haircuts or colors — just blowouts.
“At Drybar, our philosophy is simple. Focus on one thing and be the best at it. For us, that’s blowouts – wash, dry and style with great products,” Casteel said.
“With that purpose in mind, we are focused on giving each and every client the premier blowout experience while providing professional quality products and tools to better help our clients achieve and maintain the perfect blowout at home.”
It goes beyond a blowout, though, she said.
“It’s happiness and confidence. In fact, the single most important part of the Drybar experience is the way we make people feel. All people – our clients, our teams, our communities.”
After using Drybar services in other markets, they saw a void in South Dakota and Montana, she said.
“Neither state provides this type of service and awesome experience,” Casteel said. “We strive to bring beautiful hair to people in our markets and boost confidence in everyone who walks through our doors.”
Build-out has started, and they plan to open with 10 salon chairs in early September, with hiring about a month before.
Next up: Denver-based Dae Gee Korean BBQ plans to start construction at Empire Place in the next couple of weeks, a spokesman said.
It’s being franchised by Johnny Phung, who owns two Envy Nails & Spa salons in the city. Dae Gee was founded in 2012 by Joseph Kim, and its rise in popularity began in 2015 when it was featured on Guy Fieri’s TV show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Customers at Dae Gee, which means “pig” in Korean, can choose from a variety of traditional marinated Korean meats such as sam gyeob sal, or sliced pork belly; galbee, which are beef short ribs; and dak bulgogi, or chicken. Meat, fish and vegetarian options can be enjoyed in a bowl, hot stone pot or tucked inside lettuce and eaten as a wrap. Entrees can be piled high with other ingredients such as rice, kimchee, broccoli, radish and fish cakes.
It’s estimated construction will take about four months, so the restaurant is projecting to open in late October or early November.
As for the remaining space, “we’ve absolutely got good interest,” said Raquel Blount of Lloyd Cos., who represents the property. She marketed it at the recent ICSC retail real estate convention in Las Vegas, and “we absolutely got good interest,” she said. “We put it in front of several national retailers, and now it’s down to determining the right sizes for the concepts.”
She has another letter of intent on a space done, so assuming that comes together, there are only three spaces left.
