Jan. 23, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

He went in to practice his swing at a golf simulator and ended up becoming a restaurant owner.

“It just kind of happened,” said Carson Stemper, owner of The Office Bar & Grill in Madison.

“I was in there golfing, and I talked to the owner, and he said he was selling, and one thing led to another.”

Stemper put his culinary education to work at The Office Bar & Grill, which opened in 2019 at 201 S. Egan Ave., a downtown street filled with local businesses.

“Obviously, COVID was tough, but our main thing is pizza, and that’s a great to-go item, so we got through COVID really well, and now everything’s great,” he said.

But fixing up his century-old building and turning it from a bar with golf simulators into a full-service restaurant took a bite out of his budget. That’s where a facade easement grant from the Lake Area Improvement Corporation, which awarded it as part of its Downtown Facade Improvement Grant program, helped.

It allowed him in 2021 to transform the building’s outdated style into something that looked more modern.

“It really made the building look nice and inviting,” Stemper said. “We’d wanted to do it, but then they came out with the program. Our grant didn’t cover the total cost, but it made the decision to spend the money so much easier.”

Here’s a look at the before and after:

And customers took notice.

“People loved it,” Stemper said. “We had a whole bunch of people come in because they said they saw it from the street and it looked so nice, so we got a whole new batch of customers just because the outside had an appealing look.”

This year, communities in the Sioux Falls metro area are launching similar programs.

The Dell Rapids Economic Development Corporation and Lennox Area Development Corporation are both offering up to $5,000 in matching funds for Main Street businesses and building owners to make improvements to awnings, signage, windows, doors and other elements of their facades.

While the Dell Rapids Economic Development Corporation has focused primarily on industrial growth in the Fiegen Development Park, board president Dan Klein said: “We recognize how important our historic downtown corridor is to Dell Rapids. Our downtown sets us apart from our neighboring communities.” Downtown Dell Rapids is an official historic district designated by the National Register of Historic Places.

The Lennox Area Development Corporation offered a community survey in 2021, and residents repeatedly mentioned the need for the central business district to become more of a destination.

“Lennox residents would like a place where they can gather with friends and family and have unique experiences,” said LADC president Sharese Ihnen. “With this program, we hope to start a wider revitalization of the area and make it an even more attractive place to live, work and play. A vibrant Main Street helps attract new families and encourages them to become invested and involved in our community.”

The approach is an accessible, effective way for communities to revitalize their downtowns, said Jesse Fonkert, CEO of the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

“This is a high-impact strategy that has a big ripple effect,” he said. “Not only does it increase commercial activity, but it fosters a downtown environment that we know residents and visitors are looking for in communities of all sizes.”

In Madison, the response to the program has been so strong that additional funds were allocated. After investing $50,000 in 2020 into the facade improvement program, the community saw more than $250,000 invested in its downtown corridor.

“It was awesome,” said Stemper, who is expanding his restaurant. “There were a lot of places downtown that did it, and it made downtown look a lot better.”

Both Lennox and Dell Rapids have received interest from businesses looking to apply and are excited to see the improvements to their downtown areas.

If businesses or building owners in either community are interested in applying for the program, they can reach out to their respective SMGA economic development specialist: Ryan Solberg, [email protected], in Lennox and Sheldon Jensen, [email protected], in Dell Rapids.