Ice cream shop to open at 69th & Louise
May 3, 2021
A locally owned ice cream shop will be joining Starbucks and Capriotti’s in a new retail center in southwest Sioux Falls.
Tasia Guericke is starting Sweet Cheeks, an ice cream shop with a self-serve format and toppings bar at 69th Street and Louise Avenue.
Guericke grew up in Sioux Falls, graduated from Roosevelt High School and earned a degree in accounting and business administration from the University of Sioux Falls last year.
She worked at Eide Bailly for three years gaining accounting and business operations experience before deciding to launch her business.
“I’ve always had a passion for being a leader and being creative, and I think owning my own business I get to do everything – create it all, have really close relationships with employees and be a mentor,” she said.
She worked at Dairy Queen for five years and was inspired by her manager, who “was like a second mom to all the high schoolers,” she said. “I want to be that and create a fun work environment.”
Sweet Cheeks will feature 10 flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt and dairy-free options that will rotate. The toppings bar will include “lots of candy toppings, fruit toppings, the fun bobas everyone loves and all the sauce flavorings.”
Customers will pay based on the weight of their creations.
The store also will have a freezer with novelty treats such as frozen Snickers, push pops, fudgsicles and ice cream cones and will sell cotton candy.
The design will be “very modern and trendy,” Guericke said. “I feel like it would appeal to high schoolers, college students, young families – a lot of black and white, and pops of color like pinks or pastels.”
There will be a variety of seating with the goal of creating a coffee shop-type atmosphere that’s “going to be really fun and inviting,” she said. “Where people feel welcomed to stay awhile … so I’m excited to see what it could bring to this area.”
After a lot of research, she determined the retail center was “by the far the best” location for the shop, she said.
“Right next to Starbucks gives me a lot of attention and new customers, and it’s by two interstates, a bunch of residential with a range of family housing, commercial, and it’s a huge growing area.”
The retail center was developed by Cresten Capital Holdings and now has one 1,500-square-foot space remaining.
“It’s a good fit for many types of businesses,” said Raquel Blount of Lloyd Cos., who has it listed for lease. “I could see a boutique, a hair salon, nail salon or a financial services office including insurance.”
Guericke is hoping for a Sweet Cheeks opening by mid-July or early August. The store will be open year-round.
“I wish construction could move faster, but I hope to capture as much summer as we can,” she said.
