May 6, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Pendar Properties.

Pomegranate Market is about to start construction of its downtown location and is offering a new glimpse at a store that will offer Sioux Falls a whole new grocery shopping experience.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm and questions and people saying they can’t wait,” co-owner Craig Snyder said. “We feel like the design is great, and it’s going to be a beautiful store.”

The concept at the Cherapa Place development will include a 60-seat bistro with hot and cold options for dine-in or to go, a separate Groove coffee and juice bar and Pomegranate Market’s curated selection of groceries.

Renderings by Articulate Interiors 

The bistro will include Pomegranate Market’s signature salad bar and hot bar, as well as the addition of a “world bowls” line with grain-based bowls available in international cuisines such as Korean, Mexican and Thai.

“We’ll still have sandwiches and hamburgers as well, so there’s a significant emphasis on the prepared-food program, allowing people to jet in and grab something or sit down and eat, so we think it’s a great advantage for the employees and residents on the campus,” Snyder said.

Pomegranate Market will be leasing 20,000 square feet, which is more than originally planned.

“It’s going to be incredible. We’re so excited,” said Erica Locke, who co-owns Articulate Interiors with Amanda Gilliland.

The firm completed a detailed design of the space, including the layout and flow, as well as the floors, walls, ceilings and all the furniture and finishes.

“We thought about it like, what would we want? Because we’re going to use it. It’s awesome as a small-business owner needing a place to meet. There’s a lot of people who work from home but want to be around people.”

The design is a “clean, health vibe, but at the same time we wanted a timeless look, and we wanted everything to be a natural feel-feeling palette, but your eye is drawn to the colors of the produce,” Gilliland said. “So we did a lot of greens and whites and wood tones, so it gives a healthy, natural feeling in there.”

The brand refresh will be continued into Pomegranate Market’s southwest Sioux Falls store.

“But it’s definitely designed to fit the downtown culture,” Gilliland said. “It’s going to be that work cafe that Sioux Falls really needs.”

General contractor Fiegen Construction plans to start work in the coming weeks and is aiming to be done by early fall.

“I think their design is unbelievable,” said Anne Haber, co-developer of Cherapa Place. “We knew they were going to do a great job, but seeing the love and intentionality they’re putting into the design shows that whole feel of this is going to be like nothing else.”

The inspiration taken from other markets is exciting, she added. “This store will be a game-changer. It’s a game-changer for downtown and all of Sioux Falls to have this level of shopping experience right there, and that’s what it’s going to be. It’s going to be an experience.”

Pomegranate Market is one of several exciting retail developments at Cherapa Place.

Breadico Cafe has started construction as scheduled inside The Bancorp Building. The plan is to start test-baking in July with an opening date in early August. While Breadico will keep its retail store in south Sioux Falls, the Cherapa location will be a cafe bakery, with a coffee house feel.

The plan is to offer breakfast items such as yogurt, quiche and Italian pastries and then lunch with sandwiches that feature Breadico’s signature sourdough breads and fresh-milled wheat.

In the original Cherapa office building, the main-floor restaurant space is being renovated into Rivage Oak Kitchen, from restaurateurs Devon and Ashley Giesen.

“Rivage” reflects how the building sits at the edge of the Big Sioux River, while “oak” is a reference to the forest. Rivage Oak plans to focus on a lunch and dinner menu inspired by dishes with South Dakota ties, including pheasant, walleye and bison. It eventually will expand to breakfast.

“We’ve been doing extensive cleaning in that space, and they’re starting to begin the renovation,” Haber said. “Our hope is we can still get that open later this summer and take advantage of the gorgeous patio setting and bring an additional amenity to the development. We’re extremely excited by the restaurant concept the Giesens are going to bring to the space.”

There is some remaining retail space for businesses looking to become part of the development’s momentum.

The Bancorp Building, which includes iv&co and Combine has some space available next to Combine, “and we’ve had interest in that,” Haber said.

The Clark, which includes Pomegranate Market, has 8,000 square feet left, and “we’re looking for something to bring activity,” she said. “We can see something in the recreation or entertainment space fitting well there, or we could do more food and beverage depending on what it is to make sure it works with the rest of the food and beverage.”

The Dakota, which includes SISU Fit, also has limited remaining space.

“We’re finalizing details on really exciting restaurant concepts, so stay tuned in the coming weeks,” Haber said. “We would still have the corner space in that building, which would be great for health and wellness. We’d love to see beauty in the development or other uses that are health-related to complement the rest of the tenant mix.”