Feb. 13, 2025

Within a week or so, diners might be enjoying slices for lunch or a whole pie with a beer at Pizza Cheeks’ new full-service location.

Owners Barry Putzke and Jordan Taylor began remodeling the former Kaladi’s Bistro space at 26th Street and Minnesota Avenue in late fall.

Now, they’re putting the final touches on the space, hiring staff and testing out new additions to the menu, which will expand to include pasta, sandwiches, salads and appetizers. Pizza sizes will include 12- and 18-inch options. At lunch, pizza by the slice will be an option.

“What we’re hoping to do is if everything falls into place the rest of this week, at some point next week start to initiate a soft-opening plan,” Putzke said. “It’d be great if by the end of next week we could have a service or two.”

Pizza Cheeks will be open daily. Hours might be something like 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with delivery available until midnight.

Every little piece won’t be in place when opening day comes, Putzke said. “If you’re wait until you’re 100 percent ready, you’re not going to get open. At some point, you just have to rip the Band-Aid off.”

The restaurant’s kitchen is already in service, making pizzas to sell by the slice at The Hello Hi, where it got its start in 2020 out of a small kitchen in the back of the downtown bar.

The new kitchen is where Taylor can be found, tweaking the additions that are coming to the menu.

“At my age, anything different keeps me interested. This is the fun part,” he said of the time crafting recipes, before the kitchen gets busy filling orders.

“It’s fun to see Jordan getting back in there and see the brain working and tweaking (on recipes) and then getting to enjoy them,” Putzke said of the test dishes.

Everything started for the two business partners and friends when they moved from Portland, Oregon, to Sioux Falls and opened Bread & Circus Sandwich Kitchen in 2017. Their business ventures have grown to include Pizza Cheeks, En Place Catering and part ownership in Perch.

The new location will hold 80 to 90 diners at tables, booths and along the bar, which is getting a new top in Pizza Cheeks’ signature checkerboard style. The brand uses pink and white and that’s expanding to include black and white, along with a deep green on the walls.

A small room has been designated as the Space Camper Arcade, and it’s filling up with retro video games, pinball machines and Golden Tee.

Putzke worked with the graphics team at Boulevard Brewing, the maker of Space Camper, and Dakota Beverage to help design and print the custom graphics on the walls in the room. There’s even an astronaut holding a Pizza Cheeks box and slice.

They want the restaurant to be a place where families can come to enjoy a meal and kids can play in the arcade. There will be a few TVs to watch sports.

This week, Pizza Cheeks is having walk-in interviews, and Putzke said he’s surprised by how well hiring is going. He brought on Josh Gudmundson, who worked at Bread & Circus, as front of house manager. The kitchen crew is mostly hired, and now Putzke and Gudmundson are looking to fill front of house positions, both full and part time.

Putzke and Taylor are excited about their central location on a busy street that cuts through neighborhoods. Minnesota Avenue has several pizza offerings in a stretch of a few miles, from chains like Little Caesars, Domino’s, Toppers and Papa Johns to local offerings like the new Big Poppa’s Pizza and longtime Boss’ Pizza & Chicken, but Putzke doesn’t see that as a problem.

“I don’t think there could be too much pizza.”

Pizza Cheeks to expand with full-service restaurant, bigger menu