May 21, 2025

Fernson Downtown’s new food concept is a homecoming of sorts for Beau Vondra.

Vondra, who has been named director of food and beverage operations for Fernson Brewing Co., was a co-owner for almost a year at the beginning of Bros Brasserie Americano, which previously occupied the space at 12th Street and Phillips Avenue.

Now, after leaving an 18-year career at Look’s Marketplace, Vondra is leading the charge as Fernson takes back the taproom kitchen space it had leased to Wagoo Burger for three years. Wagoo’s final day is Thursday, but its food truck will continue to operate as the business looks for another restaurant location.

The replacement, Totally Rad Eats, is expected to open sometime between mid-June and early July.

“It’s going to be burger-focused but also serve a lot of snacks. We’re going to do some hot dogs, chicken tenders. It’s going to be a very casual but fun atmosphere,” Vondra said. “Good food to pair with beer is basically what we’re going for. We’ll have some fun doing it.”

The signature burger will be one that Vondra made in the first round when he appeared on “Guy’s Grocery Games” on the Food Network in 2023. He eventually ended up winning the cooking competition.

Vondra donated part of the prize money to the Sioux Falls Skatepark Association and also served the burger at a pop-up, which was called Totally Rad Burgers, to raise money for the group.

Totally Rad Eats also will have a breakfast menu to complement the taproom’s Fernson Coffee + Tea service, which currently sells pastries from Look’s Marketplace, oatmeal and yogurt parfaits.

“We’re looking at sandwiches and burritos,” Vondra said. “We will add some other fun things on the weekends like bread pudding, French toast, and biscuits and gravy, but those will probably be down the road a little bit once we get comfortable with the space.”

Before Totally Rad Eats opens fully, the taproom will serve Totally Rad Pizzas that will be cooked behind the bar, and there will be snacks the bartenders will prepare, Vondra said.

Taking on a new role stemmed from Vondra’s friendship with Fernson co-owner Blake Thompson and conversations they had, even though “I wasn’t necessarily looking to come here, and Blake wasn’t necessarily looking for anybody when we were talking.”

But the pull to do something new was there for Vondra.

“I was looking at doing something different, a little bit more in the stuff that I enjoy, the creative drive and making things and building concepts.”

And taking over the kitchen at Fernson Downtown is just the start.

“We want to not just do this concept but do more, so there’ll be more on the horizon as well,” he said.

And for fans of Vondra’s Dagger and Arrow sauces, he’ll still be selling those. A new batch should be coming soon, he said.

Since joining Fernson, Vondra has put together a team and has been building menus with them. The general manager and the kitchen manager have 50-plus years combined of restaurant experience, he noted.

Once the menus are finalized, users of Fernson’s app, which was introduced in April, will be among the first to see it, said Cole Casper, brand manager.

“It’s a cool way for us to stay relevant with people and give them what they need to know just because it’s hard to sift through everything that’s out there.”

Now that the kitchen and taproom crews will all be part of Fernson, Vondra and Casper anticipate a better experience for guests.

“We’ll have everybody working toward the same goal together,” Vondra said.

Casper said Fernson strives to be that “third place” where people go “to hang your hat, stretch out … maybe do some work. Anyone can go and get a burger anyplace. We want them to come to us to get a burger because of excellent service. It’s a destination, and the overall experience is worth it, especially when discretionary income is not what it was. We know that people are stretching what they have, and going out to eat is a luxury, and craft beer could be a luxury. We just want to make that worth their time.”

Vondra is excited to be back downtown and to keep building up Fernson’s community.

“Being back in this space – I believe it’s the most beautiful patio in downtown – the natural light in the dining room is great, the energy that I get from being back in the space, what Fernson has created for the feel of it, just brings a smile on my face when I’m sitting here.”