Feb. 6, 2026

You’ll find crochet hooks and corks at Dell Rapids’ newest business, Tashi’s Yarn Bar, which will open Saturday at 10 a.m. after a 9:55 a.m. ribbon cutting.

Owner Natasha “Tashi” Berg returned to her childhood hobby of crocheting in January 2024 while recovering from a shoulder injury and needed something calming to keep her busy.

From there, she started a YouTube channel, which quickly gained enthusiastic followers. Their interest in the products she was making led to a website offering patterns for crocheted wearables, then attendance at arts and crafts events, including the Sidewalk Arts Festival in Sioux Falls.

Now, after an opportunity to rent a storefront on Dell Rapids’ Fourth Street “almost fell into my lap,” Berg said, she has opened “a yarn shop-wine bar fusion that emphasizes a love of the arts and community.”

Currently a librarian at O’Gorman High School, Berg intended to begin operating her online business full time later this year. Taking a class through Startup Sioux Falls gave her the confidence to open a storefront, she said.

Berg lives in Sioux Falls but was visiting her best friend who lives near Dell Rapids. They were walking down the town’s main street when the vacant building, about 950 square feet, caught Berg’s eye.

“On a whim, I called to see prices,” she said. “The rent was right, and after I started talking to other business owners in the area, I fell in love with it. It’s a super-supportive community and very creative. There’s a huge fabric store on the downtown strip.”

In imagining Tashi’s Yarn Bar, Berg set out to create something unique.

“What I really wanted to create was something nobody had ever seen before, a place people could go for community and can do something while enjoying a glass of wine,” she said.

Berg will schedule a featured artist monthly in her shop. She is beginning with a pressed-flower artist who will host a craft class. Next month, a woodworker will teach a mosaic woodwork class.

Tashi’s Yarn Bar will offer a wine club along with her wine shop. Subscribers will receive two bottles of hand-selected wine, a discount on the monthly featured wine, a special night on the first Friday of each month and other exclusive offers.

Tashi’s Yarn Bar also will offer a yarn-lovers subscription box. She started it on her website; it features exclusive hand-dyed yarn. The yarn that Berg will offer in her store will have South Dakota connections. Either it will be made by someone in the state or the animals are raised in South Dakota.

“There’s an alpaca farm in White, South Dakota, and she turns it into yarn, and a sheep farmer that turns wool into yarn,” Berg said. “It’s cool that I’ll have all local makers contributing to the shop.”

Tashi’s Yarn Bar hours through the end of the school year will be 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. Hours will expand in the summer.