Aug. 5, 2024

Retail center Empire Place is nearly full, with three new national tenants under construction.

The development in front of The Empire Mall is transitioning one space to a new franchise and building out the others.

Rocket Fizz will take over the former Hawaii Fluid Art space. It’s a national concept that offers more than 500 flavors of soda, mostly in glass bottles, along with a large selection of candy and novelty items.

“It’s just got such a great selection for all ages,” said Vicki DeWitte, who is franchising it with her husband, John. The two also are franchise consultants and were attracted to Rocket Fizz because it has been in business since 2007 and has about 100 stores nationwide.

“Most of the growth has been current store owners opening more stores,” she said.

The design of the space includes wood shelving to mimic an old-fashioned candy store.

A Rocket Fizz store in New York

Shoppers will find more than 100 varieties of taffy and “all kinds of candies, a lot of vintage candies you haven’t seen since you were a kid, and we have international candies,” DeWitte said. “There’s not really a lot of candy stores in Sioux Falls and not in the shopping center (at Empire Place).”

The plan is to open in mid-August. While some employees have been hired, other positions are listed on Indeed.com, she said.

In the same retail center as Rocket Fizz, the final approximately 4,000-square-foot shell space will be filled with Snooze Mattress Co., which brands itself as “more than a mattress shop,” said Dr. Nate Phillips, a Sioux City oral surgeon who is franchising it with his family.

“It’s about improving the sleep in people’s lives. The concept is deep, restorative sleep.”

Technology that’s also incorporated by Mayo Clinic and NASA uses a 3D sensor, which “you can lay on it to help you to the exact right mattress,” he added.

The proprietary in-store experience is designed to identify which sleep system will best optimize your blood circulation, alleviate pressure points, regulate body temperature and activate neutral spinal alignment, according to the company.

Snooze carries major mattress brands such as Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Beautyrest and Stearns & Foster, as well as pillows, protectors and bases.

“We’re a big shop, so there will be lots of options for each individual customer,” he said.

His daughter will be the general manager, and he plans to add a couple of additional employees. The plan is to open this fall.

A national real estate agent who helped him secure the space said “this is the best spot there is in town, so that’s why we went with it,” Phillips said. “It’s brand-new, and we could build it out the way we want. He called it Main Street on Main Street.”

The new tenants join stand-alone anchors such as Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chase Bank, as well as strip mall tenants such as Crumbl Cookies, Buff City Soap and Smoothie King.

Hallmark also is under construction and plans to open an approximately 4,500-square-foot store next to Flyboy Donuts later this year.

“These tenants are a good complement to the food and beverage that’s out there and will be a nice addition to the tenant mix we currently have in the center,” said Raquel Blount, vice president of commercial real estate at Lloyd Cos., who represents Empire Place.

“It’s fun to see this be a location for new franchisees that are coming to the market and looking to establish themselves.”

The only remaining space is the former Drybar, a styling salon that closed earlier this year.

“It’s a unique space,” Blount said. “It’s not set up the same way as other hair salons, but that does make it potentially easier to retrofit.”

Hallmark to return to Sioux Falls