Jan. 31, 2024

Construction delays, equipment shortages, business changes and hiring challenges — they’re some of the many reasons restaurants don’t open on timelines originally announced.

In some cases, restaurant openings in Sioux Falls has been in the works for many months — some as long as three years.

In other cases, they’re moving along basically as planned.

We did some checking on when you might be able to start dining and drinking at these future locations.

Altered Species Ales

The date for bringing a brewery on-line at Altered Species Sales isn’t definite, but owner Mike Nussbaum hopes to be brewing in May and releasing his first beers in June. Nussbaum, previously the head brewer and a minority partner in Obscure Brewing Co., opened his business in September 2022 on the south side of the Western Mall. He started with a taproom serving craft beer from South Dakota and regional breweries, knowing that it would take longer to get his own operation going.

Now, renovation work has started in the area that will hold a seven-barrel system, with each batch producing more than 200 gallons at a time. Nussbaum ordered the equipment before the taproom opened, and it will be delivered in early to mid-March. He estimates it will take eight weeks for installation. “It’s kind of worked out well,” he said of the timing. “I was able to get the taproom up and running smoothly, and now that that’s settling, I can focus a little more time on the brewery setup.”

Taproom, future brewery to open at Western Mall

Atomic Wings

In December, franchisees for Atomic Wings announced their plans to bring the national chain to Sioux Falls. Construction hasn’t started yet, but owner Eric Engelstad said he hopes it will soon. If it does, that means the opening would be at the end of April or in May, he said. The fast-casual restaurant will be in a retail center at Stadium Crossing on 69th Street just east of Cliff Avenue. Atomic Wings specializes in traditional and boneless wings with 15 sauces and also offers tenders, chicken sandwiches, salads and sides. Engelstad and his wife, Stefanie, also are the local franchisees for Firehouse Subs. Update: A building permit was issued Feb. 23.

New retail center at 69th & Cliff to fill with restaurant, service tenants

BB’s Pub

The resurrection of BB’s Pub is near. Dave Birger closed the longtime bar and grill at 49th Street and Westport Avenue a year ago with plans of building a home for it in northwest Sioux Falls. In the meantime, he opened Credo’s Pub in the nearby University Hills Village complex, offering many of the same features that BB’s was known for. Now, the building that will house BB’s has been constructed, and the build-out of the pub is nearing completion.

It’s expected to open in early February in time for the Super Bowl, said Ethan Harvey, Birger’s grandson who serves as the bar manager for both pubs. Credo’s will remain open, and the two businesses likely will split up or share some of food offerings, Harvey said. Breakfast will move to BB’s, pizzas likely will stay at Credo’s, and “I know for sure broasted chicken will be at both.” BB’s will have a full liquor license and offer 46 taps, 10 fewer than the original location but still among the largest offerings in the city. It will be open daily and will be family-friendly until 10 p.m.

Northwest liquor store opens; pub to follow

BibiSol

Construction work has started to turn a former Irish gift shop downtown into a Mexican restaurant. The mother-daughter team of Salas Salsas is opening BibiSol in the former Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Gifts space at 219 S. Phillips Ave in the Carpenter Building. Patricia Burbine and Marcella Salas started making and selling salsa at the Brandon Farmers Market in 2020. They expanded into online sales and retail, growing the product line to include a variety of salsas, tamales and other take-and-bake dishes. Last year, they started a food truck. The Bibisol partnership includes Salas’ fiance, Chris Nelson.

The menu will feature nixtamal-based offerings like tamales, sopes and tortillas for specialty tacos. Nixtamal is an ancient way of processing corn that makes it more digestible and increases its nutritional value.  A grab-and-go section will feature Salas Salsas products, and the restaurant will serve Mexican beer, micheladas and wine. Construction includes the addition of a hallway to connect the space to the kitchen in EightyOne Arcade, which Salas Salsas has been sharing with Sunny’s Pizzeria for the past year. Crews also will make a wider opening into the Carpenter Building lobby to provide additional seating. The target for opening is sometime in April, Salas said.

Mexican restaurant to open on Phillips Avenue

Boston’s Pizza

While the franchisees for Boston’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar initially hoped to be open already, the new estimate is mid-March or early April. Chad Burleson and Tim Johnson, owners of Ramada Waterpark at Russell Street and West Avenue, are opening the restaurant in the hotel. They announced their plans in mid-October. Demolition work in the dining room started this month, Burleson said.

“We’re finalizing building permits with the city,” he said. “We’re hoping by the end of the month to be done with demolition, and installation on the the front of house would start after that.” New pizza ovens and other equipment are expected to start arriving in February. Several years ago, Boston’s had a location in Sioux Falls on East 10th Street in the space where Tokyo Sushi & Hibachi is now. In addition to pizza, the restaurant will serve “everything from steak to pasta to seafood to salads along with appetizers and desserts that are to die for,” Burleson said in an earlier interview. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Boston’s Pizza will return to Sioux Falls

La Cantina

The demolition work is done, and the city issued a building permit this week for the new La Cantina restaurant in one of the retail centers at Dawley Farm Village. It’s going into the former Massage Envy spot at 704 S. Highline Place. It will be the second restaurant in Sioux Falls for Reyes Aranda, who is a partner in La Plaza Fiesta on the south side of the city. His Brookings-based restaurant group has 10 locations. It likely will be ready for an opening in early summer.

Dae Gee Korean BBQ

Cross this one off the list — at least for now. The franchise deal to bring Denver-based Dae Gee Korean BBQ to Empire Place fell through. It had been announced in September 2022, and in June 2023, a spokesman said the build-out was expected to begin that month. Dae Gee still hopes to open as many as three restaurants in the area over the next several years. According to a statement from Dae Gee founder and CEO Joseph Kim: “Korean culture is spreading. From the rising popularity of K-pop groups such as BTS and Blackpink to the hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” Korea is making its mark on the West. This growing attention, coupled with Dae Gee’s complexity of different flavors, will no doubt contribute to the brand’s development plans.”

Daylily Coffee

Locally owned Daylily Coffee opens Friday in a renovated building at 1010 E. Eighth St. The coffee shop, which also includes roasting operations, will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday “for the foreseeable future,” said Ariana Vandersnick, who owns the business with Andrew Fritz.

“We will have a full espresso bar, slow-brewing methods, as well as a various assortment of non-coffee – tea – and non-caffeine beverages available,” Vandersnick said. “Additionally, we will have a selection of seasonally influenced pastries and light-fare foodstuff available.” Initially, the couple had hoped to be open in the summer of 2023.

Renovated downtown building to fill up with coffee shop, florist

DQ Grill & Chill

An opening date has been set for the DQ Grill & Chill along North Marion Road: Feb. 13. Plans for the restaurant across the street from Jefferson High School were announced almost a year ago.

Staff members started training there today, said Justin Kraus, vice president of real estate for Fourteen Foods, the franchisee for Dairy Queen in the Sioux Falls area. Hours for the DQ at 1710 N. Cavalier Ave. will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and it will stay open later in the summer. The setup is similar to the DQ that opened at Lake Lorraine in September, featuring a double-lane drive-thru. Inside, there’s seating for 60, and outside, once warmer weather returns, the patio will hold about 20.

Dairy Queen plans new northwest-side location

Jacky’s Burrito Express

It has been nine months since Jacky Vanloh announced she was leasing the former Fuddruckers space for her latest Guatemalan restaurant. Vanloh expected to open Jacky’s Burrito Express last summer at 3101 W. 41st St. but ran into construction and equipment delays. It will open March 1, said Carlos Lopez, who works at the East 10th Street location.

The restaurant will feature an express-style menu with many of the popular dishes from the other locations. Customers can request a favorite that they don’t see on the menu, and the cooks will make it if they have the ingredients, Lopez said. Jacky’s Burrito Express also will have breakfast items that are available all day. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Jacky’s to fill former Fuddruckers

Jersey Mike’s Subs

The local franchisee for Jersey Mike’s Subs plans to open the city’s third location in a retail center that’s being built at 81 Gardens, the former Landscape Garden Centers site. That’s along Minnesota Avenue at 81st Street. The restaurant is expected to open this spring.

KPOT

The city issued a building permit for the Korean barbecue and hot pot restaurant KPOT in late November. The national chain leased the former Dress Barn space at 2814 S. Louise Ave. in the summer.

KPOT describes itself as an all-you-can-eat experience, with diners cooking the meal at their table. A timeline for opening has not been announced.

KPOT Korean barbecue, hot pot restaurant expanding to Sioux Falls

Nekter Juice Bar

Nekter Juice Bar opened in early January at Dawley Farm Village, and a second location is coming at 81 Gardens, the former Landscape Garden Centers site along Minnesota Avenue at 81st Street. The locally owned franchise of the national chain serves juices, smoothies and acai bowls. The south-side juice bar is expected to open this summer.

Perch

While construction continues at the historic building just west of downtown that will house Perch, the new restaurant started having pop-up brunches this month to give diners a taste of what to expect.

The restaurant is a partnership of Alex Halbach, who owns the building at 100 S. Grange Ave., local restaurateurs Jordan Taylor and Barry Putzke — the owners of Bread & Circus Sandwich Kitchen, Pizza Cheeks and En Place Catering — and Patrick Sayler, general manager of Sioux Falls Food Co+op. Halbach bought the property in 2021 with the dream of opening a neighborhood coffee shop on the first floor of the 1908 building.

When the restaurant partnership was announced in April 2023, Halbach estimated Perch would open that summer. The most recent estimate is March, Putzke said. While Perch will serve breakfast and lunch, the pop-up menus have featured breakfast items so far. The pop-ups typically are offered every Sunday in a makeshift dining space at En Place Catering.

Owner of historic grocery building announces restaurant name, offers construction update

Scooter’s Coffee

The local franchisee for Nebraska-based Scooter’s Coffee plans to build a drive-thru location in Harrisburg that’s expected to open by the end of the year. The site is along Willow Street near the new Kwik Star. The initial target opening was late spring or early summer, but franchisee Travis Rhodes said he’s delaying that to avoid opening in the midst of road construction.

Scooter’s will expand to Harrisburg

Session Ale Works

Build-out has started for Session Ale Works, a locally owned craft beer and cocktail bar on the west side of Sioux Falls. The city issued a building permit Jan. 11 for the project in the Firehouse 42 development on 12th Street east of Ellis Road. “As soon as they got it, they went to it,” owner Quentin Robertson said of construction crews.

Session Ale Works will feature 30 taps for craft beer, and a new line of Robertson’s spirits in craft cocktails. The bar will have a full-size kitchen, with pizza and wings among the offerings. The patio will offer views of the development’s manmade lake. Robertson said he’s planning to be open by April 5.

Craft beer bar to open in northwest Sioux Falls

Starbucks at Dawley Farm Village

Starbucks will open Feb. 9 in a new stand-alone location at Dawley Farm Village. The new coffee shop  is near the retail center that includes Crumbl Cookies and other shops. The site will have a drive-thru and indoor and outdoor seating.

Starbucks to open at Dawley Farm Village

Starbucks in Tea

The opening date is set for Feb. 19 for Starbucks in a retail center just east of the Casey’s travel center at the Tea exit for Interstate 29. It includes a drive-thru, indoor seating and a patio.

Starbucks in Sanford USD Medical Center

The city of Sioux Falls issued a building permit in mid-January to put a Starbucks coffee shop in the main lobby of the Sanford USD Medical Center. The coffee shop will be a licensed location for Hegg Cos., which also has a Starbucks inside the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown. Hegg and Sanford announced the plans in August 2023 for the 1,200-square-foot coffee shop that will include seating. It’s being built in an area that had been used for phone and internet-related services and is still on target for a spring opening.

Starbucks to open inside Sanford main lobby

Subway

The Subway at 3500 S. Minnesota Ave. closed in October, and the franchisee still plans to relocate it but hasn’t finalized a deal for a new site.

The Tavern Grill

The Tavern Grill, a Twin Cities-based restaurant, is looking at an early 2024 opening in Sioux Falls, according to what the former general manager told us in late 2023. The restaurant announced its location in early 2022 in the former Spezia space in the Beakon Centre at 57th Street and Louise Avenue. The Sioux Falls location is listed as “coming soon” on the restaurant’s website, with a preview menu.

The Tavern Grill was founded in 2009 with Tavern on France, located on France Avenue in Edina, Minnesota. It now has nine locations in Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota. Sioux Falls will be the 10th. The menu is centered around create-your-own option for pizzas, burgers and salads as well as sandwiches, pastas and signature entrees

Tre Lounge

When the owners of Roll’n Pin Catering acquired the former Tre Lounge building and announced plans in April 2021 to open a restaurant under the same name there, they didn’t realized how much their catering business would grow, manager Michael Hillman said in our most recent contact with him, which was in June 2023.

Roll’n Pin has been operating out of the space since then. “The demand for our services has skyrocketed, which has meant that we’ve had to allocate a substantial amount of time to meet this unprecedented surge,” Hillman said. “I understand and share in the anticipation surrounding the opening. However, we want to be transparent and let you know that we don’t have a specific timeline to share at this moment because of the unprecedented surge in catering.”

Ziggi’s Coffee

A franchised location for national chain Ziggi’s Coffee is expected to open in late February or early March. It’s going into a stand-alone location under construction at 4410 E. 57th St.

The owners are Michael and Liz Minor, who announced in December 2022 that they were looking for a location. They purchased the 57th Street site in September 2023. Ziggi’s offers a menu that goes beyond traditional coffee and tea drinks, including Italian sodas, energy infusions and fruit smoothies. The food menu includes breakfast sandwiches and burritos, panini sandwiches and pastries.

Ziggi’s Coffee under construction in southeast Sioux Falls

Recent openings

And, in case you missed them, here are restaurants that have opened in the past 90 days.

• El Effecto Latino Nightclub opened in mid-January in the former Boss’ Pizzeria & Sports Bar space in Tea.
• Hacienda Jalisco features Mexican food, mostly dishes from Jalisco. It’s open daily at 1309 E. Benson Road, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Invictus Pizza offers a build-your-own pizza concept. The locally owned restaurant is in the former Pizza Rev space at 3901 W. 49th St. It’s open daily.
• La Michoakanita, from the owners of Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop, features frozen treats made on-site and Mexican street food snacks. It’s in the original home of Giliberto’s at 712 S. Minnesota Ave. and is open daily.
• The Scapegoat, from the owners of The Alibi, serves Neapolitan-style pizzas. It’s adjacent to The Alibi’s new location at 7400 E. Oak Grove Trail, east of The Willows apartments along Arrowhead Parkway near Six Mile Road.
• Starbucks opened a stand-alone location at Lake Lorraine  that’s open daily.
• Thai10, from the owners of Mekong Market, offers Thai dishes in an express-style format. It’s in the former Subway space at 1229 N. Minnesota Ave. and is open Tuesday through Sunday.
• Wahlburgers opened its third Sioux Falls location in November. It replaced the Market Grille in Hy-Vee at 3000 S. Minnesota Ave. It’s open daily.