June 28, 2021

It says something about the retail industry that the last Hallmark store in Sioux Falls is now the home of a business specializing in holistic health and healing products.

Crystal Rock Healing, a North Dakota-based retailer, opened in the space at the Western Mall earlier this month – to solid sales day one.

“It’s awesome,” owner Cindy Schmitz said. “It’s going well. We have had so many people come in even before we opened to ask more or get a glimpse, so we were busy even before we opened.”

At nearly 6,000 square feet, the Sioux Falls store is the largest of her four locations. It’s filled with more than 200 rocks she and her husband, Ron, source and make into jewelry, as well as an area for singing bowls, essential oils and specialty items.

The space “is so visible when you’re pulling into the mall, and there’s great wall space,” Schmitz said.

When she was looking for a location early this year, “we had eight great options,” she continued.

“But since we’ve taken this one, we’ve noticed a lot of the others have been taken too, so we were lucky we got in when we did.”

She was. Since the beginning of the year, once-vacant retail spaces have consistently filled, to the point where there’s little availability in some areas.

“We don’t have much available retail space,” said Scott Blount of Lloyd Cos., who worked with Crystal Rock Healing on its site search. “Some but not a lot.”

While retail nationally is still soft compared with Sioux Falls, the local market is strong, Blount said.

“Look at Phillips Avenue – there’s nothing left,” he said.

It’s a similar story at Empire Place, the retail development under construction in front of The Empire Mall, which has opened Chipotle Mexican Grill and will add several more retailers throughout the year, including Chick-fil-A. Two multiple-tenant retail centers under construction likely will be full soon.

“I have offers on every space that’s up. Every space,” said Raquel Blount of Lloyd Cos., who oversees leasing for the development.

One of the new tenants at Empire Place is Sioux Falls native Curt Bowen.

He franchises Crunch Fitness and Sun Tan City locations in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. His newest concept, Buff City Soap, will open in more than 3,000 square feet at Empire Place.

“We have sites picked out – we’re doing 40 sites – and in a five-state area, it was one of the top two sites of everything I looked at,” he said. “Sioux Falls is a hidden gem. People don’t realize the quality of people, the work ethic, great attitude, the economy and what Sioux Falls continues to do.”

Buff City, like Bowen’s other concepts, is designed to offer the sort of experience consumers can’t get online. Its all-natural soaps, bath and body products are all made in the store daily as customers watch. It also offers parties for customers to create their own products.

“Their concept is interactive, and that’s what everyone is looking for right now,” Raquel Blount said. “There’s a lot of service retail. Car washes, things that you can’t order online. But even then, certain stores are starting to come back.”

That’s reflected inside The Empire Mall, which this month announced national women’s and home decor retailer Anthropologie plans to move into part of the former Gap space this year.

The food court is filling up, too, with Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe coming this summer and Sub Zero Nitro opening with ice cream in recent weeks.

“A year ago, we were still in defense mode just trying to keep our head above water, so to speak, trying to manage as best we can, so from a year ago we’re really looking up,” mall general manager Dan Gies said.

“Retailers are making money again, so they’re in this feeding frenzy now since the beginning of the year, and I would say in our market we were probably the first to really break out if you’re comparing local centers in our region. We were the first to open, and people were just coming here to spend money.”

The mall continues to see both local and visitor business, he said.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand and money that hadn’t been spent that they’re spending, but I think it’s just the overall experience and people getting out and really supporting the local businesses.”

Some retailers are reporting sales that are 30 percent to 40 percent better than 2019 numbers, Gies added.

“The big-ticket (items), jewelry continues to do well, a lot of the commodity things — shoes has been on fire for quite some time, anywhere from 40 to 60 percent,” he said. “Athletic footwear is really hot. … Bath & Body Works is doing numbers they haven’t seen in quite awhile. It’s really kind of neat.”

Dillard’s is still planning to bring a department store to the mall in the vacant big-box space off the food court, Gies said.

“There’s going to be a bigger announcement, I think, coming from them and (property owner) Simon when they can talk more about it as it relates to timing,” Gies said.

The former Sears space is “kind of at a crossroads,” he added.

It’s listed for lease as potentially office or retail space, “and if we get some activity, if we get a deal done, great,” he said. Otherwise, the area likely would be redeveloped.

Elsewhere around Sioux Falls, retail activity is equally robust.

At Dawley Farm Village on the east side, where Wendy’s is under construction along with Budget Blinds and Waxing the City, Raquel Blount said she’s working through several deals expected to be announced this summer.

Ryan Tysdal of Van Buskirk Cos. has four available retail spaces on the north end of the Dawley development “with land under contract for a retail center to break ground later this year,” he said.

He also has new retail opportunities coming on the south end of the development along with the far west side of Sioux Falls at 41st Street and Ellis Road and in the southeast at 57th Street and Veterans Parkway.

“57th and Highway 100 is the next logical place to put some retail,” Tysdal said. “85th and Minnesota has been going great. We can see the end in sight for leasing in front of Walmart. I have three deals in the works and rumblings of a couple more that will fill that up.”

Redevelopment of the nearby Landscape Garden Center will provide the next round of options for retailers, he added.

“We’ll have some exciting announcements to kick that project off,” Tysdal said. “There’s a lot of confidence in the market. People are out spending money and shopping and eating, so that’s been good for business owners in Sioux Falls.”

National retailers also are back to doing deals, especially when franchisees are involved, he said.

“There’s a lot of activity that disappeared a year ago that definitely returned in the last few months,” he said.

“[The commercial market has] never been busier. It’s insane.”