Aug. 17, 2023

A food truck owner is taking over the kitchen of a west-central Sioux Falls bar.

Ken Leonard of Tacos de Gringo is starting Kenards Grille in The Gaslight Lounge, 2206 W. 12th St.

The menu will be “bar food on a different level, with a chef twist on everything,” said Leonard, who started the food truck with his wife, Calain, in 2021 after moving here from Arizona. “As much that can be scratch-made will be,” he said.

Tacos won’t be the centerpiece like they are on the truck. Instead, they’ll be featured in something like a Taco Tuesday special, he said.

Burgers, chicken, gourmet hot dogs and sandwiches will be offered, falling under categories of The Herd, The Flock, Dogs and Sammies.

“I’m having fun with the names of everything,” Leonard said. “Most of the menu items are named after family members.”

That includes The Penny, his version of a Reuben sandwich that’s named after his grandmother who died last year.

“She was a member of the Women’s Army Corps (in World War II) and an Army widow,” Leonard said. All proceeds from sales of the sandwiches will go the Veterans Community Project, which is building a tiny-home village in Sioux Falls for homeless veterans to help them return to an independent life.

Appetizers, or Nibbles as they’re called on the menu, will include the food truck’s loaded fries and loaded nachos with a choice of shredded beef, grilled chicken or carnitas, house-smoked queso, pico de gallo, jalapeno, queso fresco and sour cream.

He’s adding cheese curds and chislic – using top sirloin – “because it’s kind of like a main staple for anybody doing bar food in South Dakota.” Customers can get it fried or grilled and seasoned with Leonard’s blend of spices.

Chicken used for sandwiches, tenders and nuggets will be hand-cut and hand-breaded.

Sugar Love on the menu covers desserts. “That’s the nickname for my wife,” Leonard said. “She’s a big dessert person.” Caramel brownie cheesecake and double chocolate cake will be available.

His wife calls him “Kenard,” a mix of his first and last names, so that’s where the restaurant’s name comes from.

He gave the new venture a different name because “I didn’t want to be isolated to the food truck menu.”

Leonard is planning a soft opening for Sept. 1. “Then from the first up through the end of November will be a balancing act between the food truck and the grill” because of events he has booked. He’s planning to serve lunch on the truck, and dinner in the bar Monday through Saturday unless the food truck is scheduled to be somewhere.

“The whole winter will be devoted to the grill,” Leonard said, opening at 11 a.m. and closing at something like 8 or 10 p.m.

But once warmer weather returns, Tacos de Gringo will be back on the road, he noted. The kitchen in the back of The Gaslight Lounge is small, but it has at least a little more room that he needs to keep up with the prep work for the food truck’s busy schedule.

Kenards’ customers will order their food at the window to the kitchen in the back of the bar. The Gaslight has a full liquor license and is open only to those 21 and older, so anyone younger will have to take their food to go.

“The owner and I are working on sprucing up the outdoor seating,” Leonard said, which would be open to younger customers.

Gaslight owner Charles Carey is looking forward to having hamburgers in the building again, and he’s excited that the new kitchen operator is well-versed in Southwest-style cooking.

“I used to go down there quite a bit,” Carey said of Scottsdale, Arizona. “It’s some of the best food I’ve ever had to eat.”

The bar’s kitchen was operated most recently by The Dive, which moved out in May after opening in its own space in March at Park Ridge Galleria at 26th Street and Western Avenue.

Leonard envisions having his own restaurant someday with multiple food trucks, pointing to Backyard BBQ as an example and others like Fat Kid Filly’s and Windy City Bites.

“It’s really an inspiration seeing these food trucks start from scratch and build something for themselves.”