Aug. 30, 2021

It’s not the most common move to go from a newly built area of southeast Sioux Falls to the core of Minnesota Avenue.

But it’s a shift that has been successful for longtime Sioux Falls salon owner Eileen Donley.

She moved Southeastern Hair Design & Day Spa to a new location near 28th Street and Minnesota Avenue last year and said she has enjoyed the new space and its size, despite it being a big shift from her previous location n 69th Street east of Cliff Avenue.

“I went really vintage because of the age of the house. I went with the farmhouse, vintage feel,” Donley said. “People totally have my undivided attention. I feel like I’m able to focus on (clients) way more because they are my priority.” 

Donley has been styling hair for 42 years, and as the city recovers from the pandemic, she said she has seen an unprecedented amount of demand in the new location. 

“I’m swamped now,” she said. “People were originally not coming in because of the pandemic. It just took that time and no one knew (about the new location).”

Minnesota Avenue is constantly changing. Donley’s business is one of several new additions in the heart of the major north-south corridor:

• First Premier Bank opened its new headquarters early this year at 14th Street and Minnesota Avenue.
• The Sioux Falls Food Co+op has expanded its location at 18th Street and Minnesota to include a deli space and expanded seating, now taking over the entire building that it occupies.
• Womenswear boutique Jaber Soul recently opened in a location on 21st Street and Minnesota. The boutique specializes in “accessorizing women on the outside and using our profits to build up women on the inside.” A portion of the profits go to women in Kenya, and some of its products are crafted by Kenyan women as well.
• Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop will be moving from the former Long John Silver’s space at 712 S. Minnesota Ave. to the former Wendy’s building next door.
• Silverstar Car Wash is preparing to open its new wash and training center in the former Vern Eide Motorcars at 1500 S. Minnesota Ave.
• Truks N Trykes converted a former office building to a child care center and recently opened at 2600 S. Minnesota Ave.
• Mini-Critters has moved into the former Fit My Feet at 2621 S. Minnesota Ave. with its second pet retail shop and eventually grooming.

For Mini-Critters, a Minnesota Avenue storefront was years in the making.

“This site turned out, and it was too good of a site to turn down,” said co-owner Ryan Oakes, who estimates the pet store had been looking for the right spot on Minnesota for more than five years.

He saw the effect as soon as he turned on the “open” sign earlier this month and customers began showing up, he said.

“People come in because they drove by or because it’s closer,” he said. “I’ve heard, ‘I live just near here,’ or ‘I don’t want to drive to the west side,’ ” he said.

Also on the pet side, another dog grooming, day care and boarding business recently opened on Minnesota Avenue.

Posh Paws Parlour, which started in owner Leah Jones’ home, has been operating out of the new space at 2001 S. Minnesota Ave. since earlier this summer, and she said business is booming.

“We’re just trying to figure out right now what the needs are in the community,” Jones said. “Grooming is by far the most requested service, and boarding has been growing quite a bit from what we had at our home.”

Jones took possession of the building, which is located on 28th and Minnesota, over the Memorial Day weekend and has been making updates to accommodate services, including adding outdoor space.

“We’re still in the process of renovating the property,” Jones said. “We’re adding a fence on the west side of the building, so the dogs can have some outdoor time, off-leash time.”

Jones said that during the move, her original client base followed her right into the new space, but she also has had lots of new interest.

“Clients picked their dogs up (from the house) on Friday, and they brought them back to the new shop on Monday,” Jones said. “We’ve also been growing (our client base) pretty quickly.”

Posh Paws is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Space available 

There are still many spaces on the market along Minnesota Avenue, including a car lot for sale south of 14th, across from Giliberto’s, and the existing taco shop, which is moving into the former Wendy’s.

The long-vacant former Bagel Boy also is for lease at 1911 S. Minnesota Ave., but entrepreneur Bret LaCroix is looking at it. He has a history in owning tavern and hunting-related businesses and lives nearby. The former bagel shop has been gutted and squared off inside, so there’s potential for multiple uses, LaCroix said.

“It’s in a good location, and I know it’s been empty for quite a while,” he said. “We’re not 100 percent sold on it yet. We’re just doting the i’s and crossing the t’s.”

That includes asking the city for the ability to put a 20-machine video lottery casino with a malt beverage license in the building. He already owns the machines but said he isn’t totally convinced the site is going to be a casino, either. He’s open to ideas, he said.

“We could do something different,” he said. “Minnesota Avenue is so heavily traveled that’s what attracted us to it.”