Sept. 25, 2023

Doors closed for the Buffalo Wild Wings near the Denny Sanford Premier Center in March 2020 as the pandemic began.

They never reopened.

Now, though, the building at 909 N. West Ave. has been turned into The Den.

Timing played a role, said Todd LaHaise, the franchisee for Buffalo Wild Wings in Sioux Falls who also owns the building.

“We were up against a timeline to activate our liquor license before we had to turn it back to the state,” he said. “It definitely affects the building and property because it’s pretty much worthless if you don’t have a license.”

The Den opened the night of the Jason Aldean concert about a month ago, “and it was a mad scramble,” LaHaise said. “We did very well that evening.”

While it was a difficult decision not to renew his franchise agreement for the property, the city’s other two Buffalo Wild Wings essentially are doing the same business as three locations did three years ago, he said.

“So we decided to focus on the two Buffalo Wild Wings we have, especially with the labor market in Sioux Falls,” he said.

The West Avenue building is listed for sale with Ryan Ammann of NAI Sioux Falls for $2.95 million.

With The Den, LaHaise said he sees “a lot of potential.”

The new design is darker, with a section designated for entertainment.

It occasionally has been served by food trucks, and he’d like to find an operator to lease out the kitchen “especially when it gets colder out.”

The Den has started a dart league and is seeing solid business, especially on concert nights, LaHaise said.

“It’s pretty much a bar and casino, and we put in a stage and will have some live bands,” he said, adding he has been frustrated by the lack of information or progress about the city’s vision for the future of the events center complex, which includes the stadium for the Sioux Falls Canaries.

“We keep trying to find out what the long-term plan is for the area, and we couldn’t wait anymore, so we decided to convert to just a bar,” he said. “We could spin off part of it for somebody if they wanted to do more food too. We’ve got a large kitchen and could definitely put in more and different seating in there for food operations.”

For now, the bar is open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily and until 2 a.m. on nights when there are large concerts.