March 11, 2025

A sweet shop that has gone viral on social media for its doughnuts mashed with ice cream is coming to Sioux Falls.

Yonutz is being franchised by Kim and Matt Cerwick, who also operate a Pizza Ranch location in Mitchell.

“I was ready to bring something to Sioux Falls,” Kim Cerwick said.

They’d used a business broker to try to find “something else that would be fun to bring to Sioux Falls,” but nothing seemed like a fit.

Then, social media did its thing and served up a post from Yonutz in Cerwick’s feed.

The closest one is in Denver.

“I’m born and raised in Brandon, and every big chain that came, we’d have to go to Omaha or Minneapolis, and this time it’s coming to us first,” she said.

Yonutz specializes in the smashed doughnuts, combining hot-pressed doughnuts and ice cream together for a dozen combinations such as Birthday Cake, which combines birthday cake ice cream, vanilla drizzle, confetti sprinkles and Little Debbie birthday cake. The Pebble Rebbel is strawberry ice cream topped with vanilla drizzle, Trix, Fruity Pebbles and Cap’n Crunch.

There’s also a menu of smashed milkshakes that include a mini doughnut, plus more traditional doughnuts and ice cream options.

“The atmosphere is bright and cheery, and we liked that as well,” Cerwick said.

What she didn’t realize initially is what a big following Yonutz has on social media platforms, including YouTube and TikTok.

Angelo Bahu, who has millions of digital followers, began promoting his family’s company online as a teenager. It gained support from Kevin Harrington, of “Shark Tank” fame, who helped with franchising.

“Our kids knew about it before we did,” Cerwick added. “Hopefully, people will be curious to stop by and make it more regional versus just Sioux Falls.”

The shop plans to open in the former Zoup space at 2802 W. 41st St. Zoup closed in February 2024, and franchise owner Anna Santos had planned to reopen in another location as the concept rebranded as Z Eats. Santos said she ran into complications with the franchisor and has decided not to reopen.

For the Cerwicks, the Yonutz franchise also is allowing them to use part of the space for a claw machine arcade they’re calling Clawz. It will include 10 claw machines in a format that allows players to trade up for larger prizes as they win.

“We have experience with arcade games (from Pizza Ranch) … and the marriage of the two works out great,” Cerwick said.

The hope is to host parties that draw on both and from neighboring Bricks & MiniFigs.

“41st Street between the mall and Scheels was the only place I would look,” Cerwick added.

The space “is a great location for brand awareness because of the diverse traffic mix,” agreed Raquel Blount of Lloyd Cos., who brokered the lease of the space.

“It’s near the O’Gorman campus plus in close proximity to many destination retailers.”

The hope is to open sometime in May.